State Spotlight: Utah
Utah stories from America’s Library Utah primary source set with Teacher’s Guide Utah maps Utah books & other texts Utah historical newspapers Utah sheet music Utah songs & oral histories Utah image set Utah legislation Utah Guide to Law Online Today in History: Brigham Young & the Mormon Pioneers This is the Place: The First Map of Salt Lake City, Utah Worlds Revealed: Geography…
World Spotlight: Belgium
Belgium primary sources from the World Digital Library Belgium maps Books & other texts about Belgium Belgium historic newspaper coverage Belgique historic newspaper coverage (en français) Belgium royalty historic newspaper coverage Belgium images set Belgian image set TR receiving Belgian envoys at Sagamore Hill 1917 film King Albert of Belgium visits TR’s grave 1919 film Belgium/Belgian sheet music La Brabançonne / National air of…
Today in History: Cornell University
Today in History–October 7–the Library of Congress features Cornell University, which welcomed its first students on this day in 1868. Funded as a result of the Morrill Act of 1862, Cornell wasted little time in racking up a number of firsts: first university degree in veterinary medicine, first doctorates in electrical and industrial engineering, first four-year schools of hotel administration and labor…
Today in History: World Series
Today in History–October 1–the Library of Congress features American baseball’s first World Series, the first game of which was played on this day in 1903. The best-of-nine series matched the American League’s Boston Americans (soon to be Boston Red Sox) against the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates, with Boston winning the series 5 games to 3. The National League…
Today in History: Electricity
Today in History–September 30–the Library of Congress features electricity. On this day in 1882, the first hydroelectric central station in the world began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. This and other hydroelectric plants provided inexpensive electricity, spurring industrial growth in many regions of the country around the turn of the 20th century. Find out…
Today in History: Juan Ponce de León
Today in History–September 27–the Library of Congress features Juan Ponce de León, who was granted permission to settle Bimini Island and Florida on this day in 1514. Seven years later, in 1521, Ponce de León sailed from Puerto Rico to Florida with two ships, two hundred men, fifty horses, as well as other domestic animals and agricultural tools….
Today in History: George Gershwin & Gullah Culture
Today in History–September 2–the Library of Congress features George Gershwin, who completed the orchestral score of the opera—Porgy and Bess—based on the DuBose Heyward novel on this date in 1935. The opera, like the novel, depicted the African-American Gullah culture of South Carolina. Learn more about this remarkable man and his collaborators on the internationally known opera by visiting the Today in History section and clicking…
Today in History: Television
Today in History–August 19–the Library of Congress features children’s television. On this date in 1950, ABC aired its first Saturday morning children’s television shows: Animal Clinic and the variety show Acrobat Ranch, which featured two young acrobats, Tumbling Tim and Flying Flo, and children competing in games and stunts. Learn more about children’s television as well as…
Today in History: Japan
Today in History–July 29–the Library of Congress features the country of Japan. On this date in 1858, the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (the Harris Treaty), which helped establish diplomatic ties between the two countries. Find out more about early U.S.-Japanese relations and Townsend Harris, the man who negotiated the treaty, by…
World Spotlight: The Bahamas
Country Study: Commonwealth of Caribbean Islands, including The Bahamas Bahamas primary source set, World Digital Library Bahamas maps Books about The Bahamas Bahamas songs (audio recordings) Bahamas historic newspaper coverage Bahamas images from American Memory More Bahamas images U.S. legislation related to Bahamas Guide to Law Online: Bahamas Comparing Independence Movements in the Americas Webcast More World History & Culture Resources
Today in History: Alexander Calder
Today in History–July 22–the Library of Congress features artist Alexander Calder, born on this date in 1898 in Pennsylvania. Calder’s mother was a painter and his father was a sculptor but Alexander began his career as a mechanical engineer. That early career choice served him well as an artist later when creating his first motor-driven sculptures, later…