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Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a story written by Library of Congress archivist Cheryl Fox for the July-August 2013 edition of the Library of Congress Magazine. You can download the issue in its entirety here.) As the American people struggled to come to grips with the death of president John F. Kennedy, the nation’s Library provided reference, …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Capitol Hill, Events, Manuscripts, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by Jason Steinhauer, program specialist in the Library’s John W. Kluge Center.) Each year the International Seminar on Decolonization, sponsored by the National History Center (NHC) and hosted by The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, brings together young historians from the United States and abroad to …
Posted in: Events, History, Kluge Center, Researcher Stories, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
The Library of Congress holds a rare book written decades ago in Kenya by the father of the 44th U.S. president. The author’s name, listed on the title page, is familiar even if the language is not: “olosi gi Barack H. Obama.” The language is Luo, an African tribal dialect, and the Obama in question …
Posted in: Books
Posted by: Erin Allen
In palmistry, a person’s personality traits, talents and interests are revealed through the topography of his or her hands. Amelia Earhart, born July 24, 1897, had her palm prints analyzed by palmist Nellie Simmons Meier four years before her mysterious disappearance. According to Meier’s analysis, the length and breadth of the famed aviator’s palm indicated …
Posted in: Collections, History, Manuscripts, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
The weather of late has been particularly hot, and I’m sure many of us have been looking for ways to cool off. Perhaps it’s very appropriate, then, that July is National Ice Cream Month. I’m a rocky road fan, and I love to scoop some ice cream between two warm cookies for a ice cream …
Posted in: History, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
All across the country, people are traveling for summer vacation. The Library’s collections document this age-old trend. HOTEL RESERVATIONS? CHECK. CAR GASSED UP? CHECK. It’s time for summer vacation. Prior to industrialization, people rarely traveled for pleasure, with the exception of the wealthy and those making religious pilgrimages. The advent of paved roads in the …
Posted in: Collections, Maps, Photos
Posted by: Erin Allen
Jason Emerson is a journalist and an independent historian who has been researching and writing about the Lincoln family for nearly 20 years. He is a former National Park Service park ranger at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Ill. His previous books include “The Madness of Mary Lincoln,” “Lincoln the Inventor” and …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Events, History, Manuscripts, Researcher Stories, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
While school may be out for summer, Library of Congress blogs continue to educate and inform readers on interesting and valuable subjects. Following are a few selections from the month of June. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog Gelukkige verjaardag! Eugène Ysaÿe at 155 Remembering the great Belgian violinist Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business …
Posted in: Blogging, Congress Blogs, Education
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by Jason Steinhauer, program specialist in the Library’s John W. Kluge Center.) Historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam is now concluding his tenure as the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at The John W. Kluge Center. His research looks at the first person narratives of early modern India …
Posted in: Collections, Events, History, Kluge Center, Manuscripts, Researcher Stories