Today in History–November 26–the Library of Congress features Thanksgiving, designated by President George Washington on this date in 1789. Seventy-four years later, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation that declared the last Thursday in November national Thanksgiving Day. Learn more about U.S. Thanksgiving traditions by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more…
Today in History–November 18–the Library of Congress features time. On this day in 1883, precisely at noon, North American railroads switched to Standard Railway Time (SRT). SRT was quickly adopted throughout the United States, resulting in the creation of four national time zones: eastern, central, mountain and Pacific. A year later, at an international conference in…
Today in History–November 14–the Library of Congress features the Library Company of Philadelphia, which signed a contract with its first librarian on this date in 1732. The subscription library was actually founded in November 1731 by Benjamin Franklin and friends but they had to wait until books arrived from England. The Library Company’s holdings were later made available to the…
Today in History–November 12–the Library of Congress features women’s rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, born on this date in 1815. The daughter of a judge, Stanton was devoted to her studies but her higher education aspirations were thwarted because of her gender. This experience helped inform her philosophy on individual rights. She later became a…
Today in History–November 2–the Library of Congress features Mary Todd Lincoln. On this day in 1862, Ms. Lincoln wrote a letter to her husband the president, advising him to remove the hesitant Gen. George B. McClellan from command. Learn more about this first lady by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more correspondence and other…
Today in History–October 29–the Library of Congress features journalist and politician Carl Schurz. On this date in 1855, the recent German immigrant wrote his wife, Margarethe Meyer Schurz, about his hope for their future in America. Exactly five years later Schurz sent his wife another letter, this time from Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign trail. Schurz served as a U.S. senator and worked with…
Today in History–October 21–the Library of Congress features the Guggenheim Museum, opened on this day in 1959. This contemporary art museum designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright was the brainchild of Solomon Guggenheim as a way to promote art and art education. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to…
Today in History–October 14–the Library of Congress features the religious and social reformer William Penn, born on this day in 1644. Having no luck in his campaign for religious freedom for Quakers and others in England, Penn received an American land grant in payment of a debt owed his father. He named the colony Pennsylvania in honor of…
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–October 2–the Library of Congress features Revolutionary War officers Major John André and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. On this day in 1780 André, a British intelligence officer, was hanged as a spy after being caught with papers concerning Arnold’s treasonous dealings. Only a short time before, the Continental army general had agreed to surrender West Point to the British in exchange…
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–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…