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Posted by: Neely Tucker
David McCullough, one of the nation's most decorated historians and authors, died today at the age of 89. A writer who valued deep research and lively narratives, he was a good friend of American readers and a good friend of the Library and its patrons.
Posted in: History, National Book Festival, U.S. Presidents, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Letters in the Library’s stunning collection of correspondence that has helped shape the world as we know it, stretching back more than a thousand years. Written by the famous and the forgotten in any number of languages and dialects from all over the world the letters are on everything from ancient vellum to dime store postcards. It includes letters from Wolfgang Mozart, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, George Washington and thousands of others. One of the most significant is a papal bull from Pope Alexander VI, giving Spain title to any "new lands" they might discover in the "new world," setting the stage for hundreds of years of colonialism.
Posted in: History, Manuscripts
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Researching African American genealogical history is complicated by several factors, most notably slavery and subsequent Jim Crow policies. Use this handy resource guide to get started.
Posted in: African American History, Genealogy, History, Researcher Stories
Posted by: Neely Tucker
One hundred years ago today, on Feb. 15, 1921, over 70 women’s organizations gathered in the U.S. Capitol rotunda for the unveiling of the statue “Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.”
Posted in: History, Today in History, Women's History
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered as the Civil War was in its final weeks, was one of most important in American history, featuring the immortal line, "With malice toward none, with charity for all." Michelle Krowl, the Library's Civil War and Reconstruction historian, explains how the day unfolded in this short video.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, History, Manuscripts, U.S. Presidents
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Rick Atkinson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose books include "An Army at Dawn," The Day of Battle," "The Guns at Last Light," and "Battle of the Bulge," writes about the lasting impact of World War II on American society.
Posted in: History, Veterans History Project, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The remarkable story of how the Japanese post-raid assessment of their attack on Pearl Harbor came to be held by the Library of Congress.
Posted in: Geography and Maps Division, History, World War II
Posted by: Neely Tucker
A Nazi commemorative atlas of Operations Barbarossa was captured by U.S. troops after the fall of Berlin in World War II. The only one known to exist, it is housed in the Geography and Maps Division.
Posted in: History, Maps, World War II
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Thomas Jefferson, future president, designed a macaroni-making machine, one of his many inventions drawn and described in his papers at the Library of Congress.
Posted in: History, Technology, U.S. Presidents