Ninety years ago, a Texas grocer named Lorenzo D. Buchanan stepped forward with one of the great hoaxes of 20th-century American pop-culture life, a genealogical fabrication that continues to resonate today. The Great Buchanan Inheritance Hoax rocked American life from 1931-1936 with his false tale of an $85 million inheritance that was available to anyone who could prove a family connection.
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.
Kimberly Hamlin is a history professor at Miami University in Ohio and a distinguished lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. She researched her latest book, “Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage and the Extraordinary Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener,” in the Library’s Manuscript Division
Author and journalist Michelle Farrell researched her latest work at the Library -- the Bermuda experiences of W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Denslow bought a small island there in the early 1900s using royalties from his works.
Charles W. Calhoun, a history professor and author, has used the Library's collections for more than half a century in his work on studying late 19th century America.
Theater historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper writes about how she used the Library's collections to research the musicals of Johnathan Larson, author of "Rent" and others.
The Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds a dazzling array of 15th-century woodcuts. Taken together, they display the experimentation of artistry and design in the years following the invention of the printing press.
