This is a guest post by Michelle Krowl, a historian in the Manuscript Division. “A diary, faithfully kept in such eventful times as these, must be interesting to our own children,” wrote Betty Herndon Maury on June 3, 1861, explaining her purpose in keeping a journal after Maury’s family chose to leave Washington, D.C., to […]
This is a guest post by Michelle Krowl, a historian in the Manuscript Division. On Feb. 14, 1884, Theodore Roosevelt marked an X in his pocket diary, followed by the words, “The light has gone out of my life.” That morning his mother, Martha Roosevelt, died of typhoid fever. That same afternoon, in the same […]
Benny Seda-Galarza joined the Library’s Communications Office a little more than a year ago as a public affairs specialist. Fluent in English and Spanish, he is helping to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community to raise awareness about the Library’s programs and services. In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, Seda-Galarza answers a few questions about […]
This is a guest post by John Hessler, curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the History and Archaeology of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress. On June 12, 1539, a boat set sail from the Spanish city of Seville containing a cargo that would change the face of the Americas forever. […]
This is a guest post by Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division. The post celebrates both National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Library’s ongoing exhibition Baseball Americana. “I remember traveling to Lake Elsinore, which was a long way in those days. … [T]he only ride we could get was from a friend who […]
It is well known that Dolley Madison rescued a now-iconic portrait of George Washington as she fled the White House on August 24, 1814, just before British troops set fire to Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. Less well known is exactly what else she managed to take with her amid the chaos of […]
The following is a guest post by theater historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper, the creative and programming director at Feinstein’s/54 Below, a Broadway supper club in New York City. From October 9 to 14, the club will present “The Jonathan Larson Project,” a concert of previously unheard work by the late composer and playwright. Tepper, who […]
This is a guest post by Naomi Coquillon, an education specialist in the Interpretive Programs Office. The post ties together themes from two major concurrent exhibitions on display at the Library: Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I and Baseball Americana. When the United States entered World War I on April […]
This post’s publication coincides with our celebration today of George Gershwin’s birthday – he was born on Sept. 26, 1898, in New York City. The Library also announced today the availability of rare Gershwin home movies on its newly launched National Screening Room website. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced this week that husband-and-wife team […]
This is a quest post by John Hessler, curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the History and Archaeology of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress. He describes research and analysis he conducted with Tana Villafana and Meghan Wilson of the Library’s Preservation Research and Testing Division and Stephanie Stillo of the […]