On Sunday night, July 16, 1895, Hattie Strage of Chicago was arrested and fined for disorderly conduct. Her offense? Bicycling over the city’s fashionable South Side boulevards “arrayed in a bloomer suit consisting of flesh-colored tights and a short jacket.” Women’s cycling attire was a subject of intense scrutiny at the dawn of the golden …
This is a guest post by Guy Lamolinara, communications officer in the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. Do you work in the field of literacy or know someone who does? Then you may want to consider applying for a Library of Congress Literacy Award. Applications will be accepted from organizations that …
Opening day for Major League Baseball took place last week, on March 29—the earliest opening date in MLB history, excepting for special international events. This year’s opening day also marked the first time in 50 years that a full slate of games was scheduled for the first day. The Library of Congress is marking the …
This is a guest post by Naomi Coquillon of the Interpretive Programs Office. As spring slowly blossoms in Washington, we’re gearing up for our celebration of all things windy, flowery and new with our Spring Fling Pop-Up Exhibition. Open April 6, 7, 13 and 14, the pop-up invites visitors to experience the living history of …
This is a guest post by Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division, in honor of Women’s History Month. “The man with the hoe is gone. Six hundred thousand of him left the fields of America last year,” observed the Los Angeles Times in April 1918. Hundreds of thousands more would follow as a …
Harry Belafonte, Run-DMC, Yo-Yo Ma Recordings Among Newly Announced Inductees Tony Bennett’s hit single “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”; the Latin beat of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s 1987 “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”; the timeless soundtrack of “The Sound of Music”; Run-DMC’s 1986 crossover hit album “Raising Hell”; and radio …
This is a guest post by digital library specialist Elizabeth Gettins. Mary Katherine Goddard (1738–1816) lived during remarkable times in early American history, and she did not sit idly by observing events. Instead, this brave and industrious woman actively took part in helping to found a new republic through use of her printing press. She …
On March 13 and 14, an international team of linguists visited the Library of Congress to transcribe and translate, for the first time, the “Guatemalan Priests Handbook,” a rare and important manuscript in the Library’s Jay I. Kislak Collection. Dating from the early 16th century, the manuscript is written in several indigenous Mayan languages. The …
This is a guest post by actor Douglas Taurel, who developed an original one-man show based on a World War I diary in the collections of the Library’s Veterans History Project. Taurel performed the show on November 11, 2017, as part of a full day of programming at the Library in honor of Veterans Day. …