Tuskegee airmen at Ramitelli, Italy

Primary Source Spotlight: Tuskegee Airmen

Online exhibition items Tuskegee Airmen Breaking Flight Barriers Tuskegee Airmen with Lena Horne The 332nd Fighter Group Tuskegee Airmen image set Tuskegee Airmen in Art Exhibit The Detroit Tribune. (Detroit, Mich.), 01 Sept. 1945 Tuskegee pilots historical newspaper coverage 332nd Fighter Group historical newspaper coverage 332nd Fighter Group veteran oral history collections WWII Reunion: Tuskegee Airmen streaming webcast…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Boeing aircraft plant – production of B-17F

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Boeing aircraft plant – production of B-17F

Zoom into the picture above (.pdf file) and analyze the photo using the primary source analysis tool. First, just use the picture to complete your image analysis, then review the bibliographic record to add to your analysis. Share your analysis with a partner, group or the class. This image lists some letters and numbers at the bottom of the picture. Enter…

Design sketch for T-1 Locomotive Pennsylvania Railroad

Primary Source Spotlight: Transportation

Primary source sets Transportation primary source set with teacher’s guide Transportation image set Transportation maps Films & webcasts related to transportation Oral histories related to transportation Life history mentioning transportation Historical texts related to transportation Historical newspaper coverage: modes of transportation PSN curated primary source collections Air Balloons & Airships America’s Roadways B&O Railroad Bicycles Cable Cars C&O Canal…

Alexander Graham Bell's design sketch of the telephone

Today in History: Alexander Graham Bell

Today in History–March 10–the Library of Congress features Alexander Graham Bell, who made the first successful telephone call to his assistant Thomas Watson on this date in 1876. An audiologist, speech therapist and teacher of the deaf, Bell’s knowledge of the nature of sound likely encourage his experimentation. Another Bell invention was a metal detector, that was created to help…

First flight, 120 feet in 12 seconds, 10:35 a.m.; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

Today in History: Wright Brothers’ First Flight

Today in History–December 17–the Library of Congress features the first flights of the Wright brothers, flown on this day in 1903. Orville piloted the first flight that lasted 12 seconds and 120 feet and Wilbur piloted the fourth and final flight, remaining airborne for 59 seconds and traveling 852 feet. Learn more by visiting the Today in History section, then click…

Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St Louis" airplane, hanging at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, Washington, D.C.

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St Louis” Airplane

Part of the Smithsonian Institution’s mission is “Shaping the future by preserving our heritage . . .” Why do you think the Smithsonian chose to display this artifact?  Find out more about Charles Lindbergh. Imagine you are your age in 1927, reading about his accomplishment. How do you feel? What dreams does this historic flight inspire…