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Category: Biography

Photographic print. Inflation of the balloon Intrepid to reconnoiter the Battle of Fair Oaks; Lowe, not visible in this image, is standing to the right of the balloon.

The Aeronauts

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to give a gallery talk in the Library’s Civil War in America Exhibit Hall about the role of technology during the U.S. Civil War. There were many technologies or tools in use or being developed at this time, such as the telegraph, ironclad steamships (e.g. Merrimack and Monitor), railroads, …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

Fortitudine Vincimus

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is from science reference librarian  Margaret Clifton.  She is also the author of Loving the Stars – Telescopes from Galileo to James Webb,  Saving Energy: The Fall Back Position,  Stars in his Eyes and Sun Spots this Summer.  “And you thought they were cute” A wide variety of literature on Antarctica has been collected over …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

A Fortune Made from Fur: John Jacob Astor

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

  John Jacob Astor was born July 17, 1763, in Walldorf, Germany (near Heidelberg). He came to the United States after the American Revolution and began trading furs, shipping them to Europe via New York. Business was good, and Astor was well on his way to making his fortune when he got a boost with …