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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: 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