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…
From America’s Library: Born: February 23, 1868 Died: August 27, 1963 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a noted scholar, editor, and African American activist. Du Bois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP — the largest and oldest civil rights organization in America). Throughout his life Du Bois…
From America’s Library: Born: About 1864 (exact date is unknown) Died: January 5, 1943 George Washington Carver was born a slave in Diamond Grove, Missouri, around 1864. He is one of the nation’s most famous agricultural scientists. He is best known for his research on peanuts and his commitment to helping poor Southern African American farmers. Carver…
Today in History–December 30–the Library of Congress features politician John Peter Altgeld, born on this day in 1847. A lawyer, Altgeld served as a city attorney and a county prosecutor before serving on the bench of Cook County’s Superior Court from 1886 to 1891. In 1892 he was elected governor of Illinois. A progressive, Altgeld passed penal and legal…
Overview Haymarket Affair Digital Collection—presents original manuscripts, broadsides, photographs, prints and artifacts regarding the Haymarket Affair, an 1886 conflict between labor protestors and members of the Chicago police force. Materials document the events leading up to the May 1886 riot, the arrest and trial of those accused of throwing a bomb that killed several police…
Today in History–December 10–the Library of Congress features baseball player Walter Johnson, who died on this day in 1946. Johnson played 21 seasons with the Washington Senators and later became the team’s manager. Nicknamed “The Big Train”, Johnson is considered to have one of the best fastball pitchers ever. His accomplishments include the following: scored more…
Directory Instructions for placing a telephone call. A careful observance of the following will aid materially in securing good service: To call Central Office, give the bell crank one sharp turn; then take the hand telephone from the hook; place it firmly against the ear and listen for the operator, who should answer, “What number?”…
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–October 28–the Library of Congress features editor and president of the National Geographic Society, Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, born on this date in 1875. Just 9 years after immigrating from Turkey to the United States, Grosvenor began working as an assistant editor at National Geographic upon the recommendation of family friend Alexander Graham Bell. Just four years…
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…
Today in History–September 16–the Library of Congress features college football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, who announced his retirement at the age of 98 on this day in 1960. Stagg played football and baseball for Yale University before beginning his college coaching career, which included those two sports as well as basketball and track. Visit the Today in History section to learn…