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Category: History

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

My Job at the Library: The Library’s First Official Historian

Posted by: John Sayers

This post is reprinted from the November–December issue of LCM, the Library of Congress Magazine. The entire issue is available on the Library’s website. John Cole has enjoyed a remarkable 51-year career at the Library, culminating with his most recent appointment as the first official Library of Congress historian. Throughout his long tenure at the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Songwriter Finds Inspiration in Library’s Digital Newspapers

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Rob Williams first used the Library’s digital newspaper collections more than a decade ago as a high-school teacher of U.S. history in Powhatan County, Virginia, near Richmond. Today, he’s a recording artist—he released his third album, “An Hour Before Daylight,” in October. But he still draws inspiration from the same online resources that captivated his …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

EverydayLOC: Holiday Inspiration from the Library of Congress

Posted by: Gayle Osterberg

‘Tis the season to be jolly, be of good cheer and…be a thorough list-maker. Gift lists, grocery lists, invitation lists … there are so many things, and so little time that lists are essential to helping us make a bit more sense of it all. The Library offers a lot of great resources that can …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Native American Heritage Month: Celebrating Sarah Winnemucca

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

November is National Native American Heritage Month. This annual recognition of the contributions of Native Americans to our national culture began in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed November 23–30 of that year “American Indian Week.” In 1990, President George H. W. Bush extended the observance to an entire month. Every year since then, U.S. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Diaries Shed New Light on Laos’ 20th-Century Upheavals

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Ryan Wolfson-Ford spent two weeks at the Library of Congress in May thanks to the Library’s Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship Program. It supports scholars pursuing research in Asian studies using the collections in the Library’s Asian Division. Wolfson-Ford is completing his doctoral degree in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on Laos …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Setting the Record Straight on Pirates and Their Wives

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Pirate lore has long captivated us and, through the centuries, worked its way into our literature, movies and popular culture. But many depictions of pirates are wrong, distorting our understanding of them. So writes Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos in her new book, “The Pirate Next Door: The Untold Story of Eighteenth Century Pirates’ Wives, Families and …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Recognizing the Service of Asian-Pacific-American Veterans

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

The following is a republication of a post by Andrew Huber, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project. It was first published on the Library’s “Folklife Today” blog. Throughout the month of May, we celebrate Asian-American and Pacific-Islander heritage and remember the contributions made by people of Asian-Pacific descent. Those contributions are numerous, from Duke …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Brigadier General Franklin Pierce

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

This is a guest post by Peter A. Wallner, author of a two-volume biography of President Franklin Pierce consisting of “Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son” (2004) and “Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union” (2007). It is often forgotten that Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was also a brigadier general in the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Our Founding Uncle, Thaddeus K.

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

This is a guest post by Jennifer Gavin, senior public affairs specialist in the Library’s Office of Communications. We hear a lot about our “Founding Fathers,” who started a fight with their overlords, then went on to win it. But in that war of rebellion, there were also many brothers (and sisters), cousins and uncles-in-arms—many …