Your Favorite Library Turns 220!
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.
Archive for the Today in History Category (109 posts)
A President and a King, George Washington and King George III, in a Dangerous Year
This is a guest post by Julie Miller, a historian in the Library’s Manuscript Division. For both George Washington and King George III of England, the summer of 1788 began a year shaped by illness and worry. Even though the sources of their troubles differed, each George had reason to look anxiously across the Atlantic. […]
Freud’s Last Days in Vienna as Nazis Approached
The personal papers of Sigmund Freud at the Library of Congress have been digitized and are available online Included on the Library’s website for streaming are 11 home movies of Freud made between 1928 and 1939. Margaret McAleer, a historical specialist of modern America in the Library’s Manuscript Division, oversees the Library’s more than 100 collections […]
Garfield Shooting: July 2, 1881, and the Medical Disaster That Ensued
This story is adapted from an upcoming story in the Library of Congress Magazine. It recounts the day of July 2, 1881 — 138 years ago — when President James A. Garfield was shot at a train station in Washington and the national drama that ensued. Something about Charles Guiteau wasn’t right — anyone could […]
Stonewall at 50: How it Played out in Newspapers
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 […]
25 Years of LOC.gov
The Library of Congress website debuted on June 22, 1994. Explore versions of loc.gov from the past 25 years through web archives.
Pic of the Week: 19th Amendment Edition
The LIbrary opened “Shall Not Be Denied,” a yearlong exhibit, on June 4, 2019, 100 years after the U.S. Senate ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
D-Day Journeys: The Story Map
Library experts explain how they built the extensive “D-Day Story Map.”
Pic of the Week: Walt Whitman Birthday Edition
Photo and short bio of Walt Whitman, marking the 200th anniversary of his birth.
This Day in History: Deadliest Hurricane Ever Strikes Galveston
A little more than a year ago, Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast as a category 4 storm, bringing damaging rain and flooding. Less than a month later, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico with heavy downpours and sustained winds of 155 miles an hour – only two miles an hour shy of a category 5 […]