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Archive: January 2018 (5 Posts)

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

The Early Years of Alexandria, Virginia

Posted by: Ed Redmond

The city of Alexandria, Virginia traces its roots to the establishment of a tobacco inspection warehouse at the foot of current day Oronoco Street in Old Town Alexandria. The purpose of the inspection warehouse was to provide quality control over tobacco exported from the colonies to England. Instrumental to the early mapping of Alexandria was …

Franklin D. Roosevelt being presented a globe by the United States Army at the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo, December 1942. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.

The President’s Globe

Posted by: Ryan Moore

The “President’s Globe” is big — really big and important. Weighing in at a whopping 750 pounds and sized at an impressive 50 inches in diameter, the globe was specially designed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt for use during World War II. The massive representation of the earth helped the president gauge distances over water …

Photomosaic map of Italian coast at Gulf of Salerno noting Axis defense positions and coastal features.

Photomosaic Maps of the Allied Invasion of Italy

Posted by: Ryan Moore

In World War II, the Allies opened an offensive against Fascist Italy in 1943 after successfully defeating German and Italian forces in North Africa. The Allies first captured Sicily and then launched Operation Avalanche, a plan devised to seize the port of Naples, thus ensuring the Allies could resupply, and then to cut across to …

Map of distribution of Japanese Nationals in the Americas, with data by country

FBI Maps of Japanese Nationals and Economic Interests in the 1930s

Posted by: Ryan Moore

Following World War I, the United States and the Empire of Japan competed for power and prestige in Southeast Asia. Both nations had secured islands from the defeated German Empire in the South Pacific and had established interests elsewhere in Asia, such as the Japanese occupation of Korea and Manchuria and the American presence in …