Today in History: Rosie the Riveter Born

Today in History: Rosie the Riveter Born

Today in History–June 25–the Library of Congress features Rosalind P. Walter (née Palmer), later known as Rosie the Riveter, who was born on this day in 1924. Rosalind began working as a riveter on Corsair fighter planes at the Vought Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut at age 19 .  After a newspaper article featuring her work was published, songwriters Redd…

Collections Spotlight: Treasures from the Library

Collections Spotlight: Treasures from the Library

Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress explores how cultures may guide and honor memory, memorialize the past, assemble knowledge of the known world, create collective histories, recall the events of the day, or recount a life. The exhibition juxtaposes voice recordings, moving images, scrolls, diaries, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps, books, and so much more…

Today in History: Mrs. Abby Fisher

Today in History: Mrs. Abby Fisher

Today in History–June 10–the Library of Congress features Mrs. Abby Fisher, who went from being an enslaved plantation cook to an upscale caterer and cookbook author after migrating West to San Francisco, California. On this day in 2003, The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation opened a lunch-style restaurant, Mrs. Fisher’s Southern Cooking, in Dearborn, Michigan. Discover more tantalizing…

Collections Spotlight: Carol Highsmith

Collections Spotlight: Carol Highsmith

Carol Highsmith is a distinguished and richly-published American photographer who has donated her work to the Library of Congress since 1992. Her growing archive includes tens of thousands of photographs from all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, as well as Havana, Cuba. The photos showcase landmark buildings, architectural renovation projects, landscapes, Americans at work…

Today in History: Brown v. Board of Education

Today in History: Brown v. Board of Education

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared segregated public educational facilities unconstitutional. Click the links below to access resources to help you dig deeper into this seminal event in U.S. history. U.S. Reports Notes concerning Chief Justice Warren’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education 1954…

Collections Spotlight: José Rizal

Collections Spotlight: José Rizal

José Rizal was a writer and Filipino nationalist who condemned the Catholic Church for its promotion of Spanish colonialism and founded the Liga Filipina, a political group dedicated to peaceful change. He was exiled and eventually executed but is recognized today as a national hero of the Philippines. José Rizal historical U.S. & Puerto Rico newspaper coverage…

Collections Spotlight: Poetry from Around the World

Collections Spotlight: Poetry from Around the World

The PALABRA Archive is a collection of original audio recordings of 20th and 21st century Luso-Hispanic poets and writers reading from their works since 1943. It features recordings in more than thirteen languages including Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Creole, and Indigenous languages such as Mayan, Nahuatl, Wayuu, and Quechua. “Living Nations, Living Words” contains audio…

Today in History: Frank Kameny

Today in History: Frank Kameny

Today in History–April 17–the Library of Congress features pioneering gay rights activist Frank (Franklin E.) Kameny, who led the first organized White House picket for gay rights on this date in 1965 with the Mattachine Society of Washington. Prior to that, in 1961, he was the first person  to petition the Supreme Court with a discrimination claim based on sexual…

Collections Spotlight: Wyandot Poet Hen-Toh

Collections Spotlight: Wyandot Poet Hen-Toh

Wyandot poet, folklorist, and civil servant Bertrand Nicholas Oliver Walker (1870-1927), often used his Wyandot (or Wyandotte) name, Hen-Toh, in his published poetry and prose that relayed indigenous legends and stories. Literary Papers of Wyandot Poet Hen-Toh Bookmarked Tales of the Bark Lodges by Hen-Toh Yon-doo-shah-we-ah (Nubbins) by Hen-Toh Hen-Toh in The Oglala Light newspaper Portrait of…