In celebration of Black History Month, we’re looking at how Black designers have shaped our world—from architecture to fashion to illustration to web design to inventions, we’re celebrating great design by Black creatives. Join the conversation Friday, February 3, 2022, on Instagram and Twitter by using #ArchivesHashtagParty and #ArchivesBlackDesign. Today's post from Jen Johnson, a … Continue reading Marjorie S. Joyner: More Than an Inventor
In this Facial Hair Friday photo, Coast Guardsman Kent C. Pompella displays both a bushy beard and shark teeth earrings. His is just one of the many beards featured in a series of Coast Guardsmen at Work in the Records of the U.S. Coast Guard that have been digitized and made available in the National … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Bushy Beard and Shark’s Teeth
We are taking a look at past staff and their many contributions to the National Archives throughout history. Today’s staff spotlight is Dorothy Hill Gersack, who worked for the National Archives from 1936 until her retirement in 1975. Born in Livingston, Illinois, on October 24, 1910, Dorothy Jeanne Hill earned a BS and MS in … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: Dorothy Hill Gersack
Today’s post comes from Larry Shockley, an archives specialist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In 1972 David Hiser was one of several photographers chosen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to document locations in the United States as part of the DOCUMERICA Project. Over 460 of Hiser's photos can now be found … Continue reading DOCUMERICA Photographer Continues to Enjoy Exposure from NARA Collection
Today’s post from David Smollar is a follow-up piece to his 2015 Prologue article, "Hard, Bitter, Unpleasantly Necessary Duty: A Little-Known World War II Story of the Philippines." David is a history tutor and retired Los Angeles Times journalist. My graduate school adviser at UCLA likened a quest into the past to an explorer’s dig … Continue reading Personal Surprises of History
As we say goodbye to 2022, we’re taking a look at the most popular posts of the year. We would like to thank the National Archives staff who have worked so hard this past year to Make Access Happen through their numerous contributions. 10. In 10th place comes a post for Constitution Day—Drafting the U.S. … Continue reading Top Ten of 2022
We are taking a look at past staff and their many contributions to the National Archives throughout its history. Today’s Historic Staff Spotlight features Mildred B. Berry, who worked at the Federal Register where she oversaw two major publications: the U.S. Government Manual and the Public Papers of the Presidents. Mildred Van Valkenburgh Bunch was born … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: Mildred B. Berry
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The National Archives received the original, engrossed first amendments to the Constitution, what we now call the Bill of Rights, in 1938 from the State Department. Until the National Archives was created in 1934, the … Continue reading Solving the Mystery of the Bill of Rights
Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an expert archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. The awards system of the United States Armed Forces is complex with a plethora of awards. They range from awards given for acts of valor to those given for blanket participation in the service branches. … Continue reading End of an Era: The National Defense Service Medal
Famous for his long and bushy beard he grew during his time as a guerrilla rebel fighter, Fidel Castro’s beard became a badge of honor and later a symbol of the triumph of the revolution. Today’s post comes from Callie Belback from the National Archives History Office. Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and Cuban Prime Minister … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Fidel Castro
