Facial Hair Friday: Herbert the Handsome

Herbert Hoover—successful businessman, international humanitarian, President during the Crash of 1929—and rugged mustachioed mining engineer? Yes, Bert Hoover started his career in the goldfields of Australia in 1897–1898. He then headed to China to develop coal mines, and he and his wife, Lou, were there during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Fun fact: Herbert is … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Herbert the Handsome

Thursday Photo Caption Contest

Since this week's photo featured President Harry S. Truman, we turned to Tammy Kelly, an archivist at the Truman Library, to pick our winner for the photo contest. She has firsthand knowledge of this photo since she is the one who cataloged the doll into the Truman Library's computerized system earlier this summer. Tammy picked John … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest

What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Lookout cookouts

This week's edition of What's Cooking Wednesday comes from Kathleen Crosman, an archivist at the National Archives at Seattle. Those who manned fire lookout towers were essentially camping out for weeks at a time. They had to pack their rations, which were mostly canned or nonperishable food, and prepare what meals they could. Today’s high-tech, … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Lookout cookouts

Thursday Photo Caption Contest

After much head scratching and sniffing—I mean, thinking—over which caption to choose (Khrushchev? Nipper? Kodak?) we decided to ask for help. We put in a request for assistance from Miriam Nisbet, who is the Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). When she isn't sorting out FOIA requests, she's working with guide dogs, so … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Whale Surprise!

Today's guest post comes from Jennifer Audsley Moore, who is an archives technician and volunteer coordinator at the National Archives at Kansas City. Whale: It’s what’s for dinner. At least, that is how the U.S. Food Administration and U.S Bureau of Fisheries would have it. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration was established … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: Whale Surprise!

Paging Dr. Bell to the President’s deathbed

Today in 1881, President Garfield died as the result of being shot at close range by an assassin. It took him nearly three months to die. On July 2, after months of increasing agitation and several aborted attempts to shoot the President with a pearl-handled pistol, Charles Guiteau finally mortally wounded the President as he waited … Continue reading Paging Dr. Bell to the President’s deathbed

Facial Hair Friday: A really big mustache—and bathtub

Oh, President Taft. It was your birthday yesterday, and I just had to feature you here on Facial Hair Friday. You were one of the few Presidents that seemed to stick my brain when I was studying for the AP History exam. Important dates, key battles, our founding documents—I could barely keep those facts stuck to my … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: A really big mustache—and bathtub

Ten years later: Handling 9/11 Commission records

This post is part of a series on September 11. As the nation's record keeper, the National Archives holds many documents related to the events of September 11. In this series, our staff share some of their memories of the day and their thoughts on the records that are part of their holdings. Today's blogger … Continue reading Ten years later: Handling 9/11 Commission records

9/11: The World Series and a President’s pitch

This post is part of a series on September 11. As the nation's record keeper, the National Archives holds many documents related to the events of September 11. In this series, our staff share some of their memories of the day and their thoughts on the records that are part of their holdings. Today's blogger … Continue reading 9/11: The World Series and a President’s pitch