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Posted by: Erin Allen
Letters About Literature, a national reading and writing program that asks young people in grades 4 through 12 to write to an author (living or deceased) about how his or her book affected their lives, announced its 2015 winners today. More than 50,000 young readers from across the country participated in this year’s initiative funded by …
Posted in: Books, Education, LC Web site
Posted by: Erin Allen
The travel and tourism industry owes itself to many historical “firsts.” In 1782, Scottish engineer James Watt invented the first steam engine able to turn wheels. On May 10, 1869, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad was commemorated with the driving of a “golden spike.” In 1794, the City Hotel opened in New York …
Posted in: Collections, Film, History, Photos, Pinterest, Video
Posted by: Erin Allen
The “hero of two worlds” – as the Marquis de Lafayette has been called – has recently been in the news. A replica of the 18th century French frigate that ferried him to America on his most important mission has been making the rounds of the East Coast, on a journey to commemorate the …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Congress, History, Manuscripts, Maps
Posted by: Erin Allen
Editor’s note: This blog has been updated to remove an exterior website as a source of confusing information. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Major Gen. Gordon Granger led Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas, with …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Events, History, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post from Taru Spiegel, reference specialist in the Library’s European Division.) Today marks the 200th anniversary of the history-changing Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This engagement ended in the conclusive defeat of Napoleon and his French generals and was a costly victory for the Anglo-Dutch, Belgian and German forces. The …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Books, Collections, Events, History, Today in History, Video
Posted by: Erin Allen
The musical “My Fair Lady,” based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” has been praised as the “perfect musical” and is filled with some of the most recognized songs in American musical theater. The hit show opened on Broadway in 1956 and starred Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins. Harrison …
Posted in: Collections, Music, Researcher Stories
Posted by: Erin Allen
Calling all readers, the new Library of Congress National Book Festival blog launched this week! It’s one of the many ways that we will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the nation’s premier celebration of books and reading. This year’s festival will take place during Labor Day weekend on Saturday, September 5, 2015, at the Walter …
Posted in: Blogging, Books, Events, National Book Festival, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a post written by Peter Armenti from the Poetry and Literature Center’s blog, From the Catbird Seat. Armenti spoke with a researcher who discovered a new Walt Whitman poem in the Library’s collections.) Walt Whitman enthusiasts were treated to a surprise last December when news broke that Wendy Katz, an associate professor …
Posted in: Blogging, Collections, History, Manuscripts, News, Newspapers, Pinterest, Poetry, Researcher Stories
Posted by: Erin Allen
In May, the Library’s Rosa Parks Collection continued to make news. Her niece, Sheila Keys, visited the Library of Congress to present a lecture on her book about her aunt. She, along with several other relatives, also had the opportunity to view items from the collection. “I was pleased that it would go to a …
Posted in: Civil War, Collections, History, News, Newspapers, Veterans History Project