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Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library of Congress celebrates its 220th birthday on April 24, 2020. It was begun with a $5,000 appropriation to buy 740 books and three maps on this date in 1800. It is now the largest library in world history.
Posted in: Newspapers, Thomas Jefferson Building, Today in History
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Bestselling author Erik Larson starts research for many of his books at the Library of Congress. "There's always something of incredible value," he says in this interview.
Posted in: Manuscripts, Newspapers, Researcher Stories
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Louisa Treger has worked as classical violinist, and she has a Ph.D. in English from University College London. But she is neither a musician now, nor an academic. Instead, she will soon publish her third novel. Like its predecessors, it will tell the story of a trailblazing woman from history — in this case the …
Posted in: Newspapers, Researcher Stories
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Fugitive slave ads abounded in American newspapers until the end of the Civil War; the Library of Congress collections offer insight into this ugly segment of U.S. history.
Posted in: Civil War, Newspapers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The LIbrary has several items documenting the dark hold that killers such as Charles Manson have kept on American culture and imagination.
Posted in: Crime and Punishment, Newspapers, Photos
Posted by: Neely Tucker
This is a guest post from Amber Paranick, who does great work over at the Headlines & Heroes Blog, which chronicles the Library’s vast collection of newspapers and comics. Here, she looks at how one of the seminal moments in gay rights — the Stonewall Rebellion, which took place 50 years ago today — was …
Posted in: Newspapers, Today in History
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Chronicling America, the Library's online searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers, now includes more than 15 million pages.
Posted in: News, Newspapers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
"Don't take candy from strangers." Little Charley Ross, the first missing child to make national headlines, made that mistake.
Posted in: News, Newspapers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Peter Carlson, a journalist and author of three books of American history -- much of it about outsized characters and their adventures -- bases his writing on reasearch done at the Library of Congress. He also writes a column for American History magazine, "American Schemers," which also draws heavily on Library research.
Posted in: Civil War, History, Newspapers, Researcher Stories