Top of page
Posted by: Erin Allen
Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week (Feb. 22-28, 2015) aims to raise public awareness of the contributions to society of the profession. The celebration is typically held in conjunction with George Washington’s actual birthday (February 22). Washington could be considering one of the nation’s earliest engineers, particularly for his work in …
Posted in: Collections, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
The Washington Monument is probably one of the most recognizable structures in all of D.C. At 555 feet, the Egyptian obelisk can be seen from miles away. A particularly picturesque vantage point is looking at the monument through the cherry blossom trees along the tidal basin. Built to honor President George Washington, the Washington National …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Collections, Events, History, News, Newspapers, Photos, Today in History, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post written by Meg McAleer, senior archives specialist in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.) Archivists have wonderful jobs. Four colleagues – Kimberly Owens, Tammi Taylor, Tracey Barton and Sherralyn McCoy – and I shared nods of understanding, delight and awe often during the last two months of 2014 as …
Posted in: Collections, Curators, History, Manuscripts
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
A few years ago – around 2001, 2002 – I had a cannon in my basement in Rockville, Maryland. You could see it through the front windows, where it was aimed. I wondered if the mailman would report us to Homeland Security. It wasn’t a real one, but it was incredibly realistic and man-o’war-size (about …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Exhibitions, Manuscripts, Music, Preservation, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
More than 112,000 patrons visited the Library of Congress exhibition “Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor” during its brief 10-week viewing, which ended Jan. 19. “Much has been written about Magna Carta’s current visit to America, particularly in relation to the inchoate liberties it birthed. Rightly so,” wrote Kevin R. Kosar for The Weekly Standard. “The …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Concerts, Events, Music, News, Newspapers, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
February is African American History Month, an annual celebration that has existed since 1926. This year’s theme, according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture.” This year also marks the centennial of ASALH, which was established in 1915 by Carter G. …
Posted in: Collections, Congress Blogs, Education, Exhibitions, Folksonomies, History, Law Library, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Photos, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by Lee Ann Potter, director of Educational Outreach for the Library of Congress.) Born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala., the civil rights activist would have been 102 years old today. It is impossible to imagine how many birthday wishes she received in her 92 …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Events, History, Manuscripts, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a story written by Stephen Winick, folklorist and writer-editor in the American Folklife Center, for the January/February 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. The issue can be read in its entirety here.) A century after his birth, folklorist Alan Lomax is remembered for his preservation of the nation’s cultural …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Collections, Events, Folksonomies, History, Music, Preservation