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Posted by: Erin Allen
Gordon Parks once called his camera a “weapon against poverty and racism.” His poignant photographs documented all walks of life, from the poor and impoverished of Chicago, to the gangs of Harlem, to the fashions of Paris. Today would have been his 100th birthday. Parks was born on Nov. 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas. …
Posted in: Collections, Photos, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
Thanksgiving is just a day away, and I’ve been noticing on Facebook, friends posting what they are thankful for this holiday season. Those statuses certainly have given me pause to count my own blessings. First and foremost, I am thankful for my family, who, no matter how far away I am from them, help me …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Education, Events, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Photos, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
Today, on what would have been Amelia Earhart’s 115th birthday, news reports are trending about a recent expedition to discover what truly happened to the famed aviator on July 2, 1937, when she and Fred Noonan mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. A $2.2 million expedition that hoped to find wreckage from the famed aviator’s …
Posted in: Collections, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, News, Today in History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Happy Fourth of July! Today in 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring freedom of the 13 colonies from Great Britain. The Library is home to the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence. A couple of years ago, thanks to the work of the Library of Congress’ Preservation Research and Testing …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Collections, Manuscripts, Today in History, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
In addition to today being Flag Day (you can read more about that here), June 14 is also Family History Day. This actually makes me think of my dad, who has become quite the budding genealogist. Over the last several months, he has been extensively researching our family tree. Apparently one of my very distant …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Genealogy, Thomas Jefferson Building, Today in History, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 and citizens are called upon to do their part in protecting the environment, to promote and participate in “green living” and to celebrate our natural resources. Conducted in affiliation with the Library of Congress Center for the Book and the Center for Environmental Literacy at Saint …
Posted in: Events, Today in History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
In the wee hours of the morning on April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic – the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time – sank into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg only a few hours earlier. More than 1,500 people died. This year marks the centennial of one …
Posted in: Collections, History, Music, Newspapers, Photos, Today in History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
From time to time, I’d like to blog about notable historical events or otherwise interesting advents in our nation’s past, courtesy of Today in History, which mines the American Memory collections to discover what happened in our nation’s history on each date throughout the year. Today’s “TIH” marks the day in 1917 the United States …
Posted in: Collections, History, LC Web site, Today in History, Uncategorized, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
What do leaping frogs and composer Gioachino Rossini have in common? Well, thanks to today’s Google doodle the two are brought together rather comically – not only does today mark the cosmic anomaly of leap day but it’s also the 220th birthday of Rossini … or his 53rd, depending upon which way you roll. After …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Music, Today in History, Uncategorized