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Posted by: Erin Allen
The weather of late has been particularly hot, and I’m sure many of us have been looking for ways to cool off. Perhaps it’s very appropriate, then, that July is National Ice Cream Month. I’m a rocky road fan, and I love to scoop some ice cream between two warm cookies for a ice cream …
Posted in: History, Today in History
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
This is a guest post by Cheryl Fox of the Library’s Manuscript Division The First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas (July 21, 1861) set many precedents in American history—key troops were transported by train, battle reconnaissance was attempted via observation balloon, battle scenes were sketched and the battle’s aftermath, photographed to be published in newspapers. And …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Books, Capitol Hill, Civil War, Education, Exhibitions, History, Libraries, Maps, Photos, Today in History, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
Recently my dad gave me an interesting little tidbit concerning further research he has done on our family tree that is particularly auspicious for the occasion of today’s Fourth of July celebrations. (As you may recall from this previous blog post, my father has found a new hobby in ancestry research.) As it turns out, …
Posted in: Collections, History, Manuscripts, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
“Bird” has been the word around my house lately. And, today, we celebrate Bird Day – a holiday established in 1894 by Charles Almanzo Babcock, a school superintendent in Oil City, Penn. Babcock hoped the initiative would promote conservation and awareness to the public, especially school children. Recently, a friend of mine started talking about …
Posted in: Collections, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post from Mike Mashon, head of the Moving Image Section in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.) One of the great joys of working with the Library of Congress film and video collections is learning more about our holdings from the astonishing variety of researchers the Moving Image …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Film, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
Saturday is the 270th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birth (April 13, 1743). And, the Library of Congress owes much to this esteemed third president. After the British invaded Washington in the War of 1812, they burned down the Capitol building, including the Library of Congress collection housed there. Jefferson, an avid book collector, sold his …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, History, Thomas Jefferson Building, Today in History, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
This Spring, basketball celebrates a milestone—the 75th anniversary of “March Madness,” the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 basketball series. For both men’s and women’s basketball, these tournaments determine the national champions of college basketball. In 1938, Ohio State University coach Harold Olsen conceived the idea, and the following year the first tournament …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, Events, History, LC Web site, Photos, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by Audrey Fischer, editor of the Library of Congress Magazine.) It’s been 50 years since pioneering women’s rights activist Betty Friedan stunned the nation with her controversial book, “The Feminine Mystique.” In what became known as a manifesto, Friedan urged women to eschew the cult of domesticity and address …
Posted in: History, News, Today in History, Video, Women's History
Posted by: Erin Allen
The Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. These collections, housed in the Manuscript Division—and the Library’s holdings in other formats such as rare books, photographs, films, sound recordings, sheet music and maps—inform us about the time and tenor of each of their administrations. Unique to …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, Events, History, Manuscripts, Today in History, Uncategorized, Washington DC