Russell Lee’s Coal Survey Exhibit

On Saturday a new exhibit opened in the National Archives Building, Power & Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey. It will run in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery until July 6, 2025. This exhibit features more than 200 of Russell Lee’s photographs of coal miners and their families.  Russell Lee, 1935. (Photo courtesy of the Library … Continue reading Russell Lee’s Coal Survey Exhibit

WAVES: It’s a Woman’s War Too!

Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore in the National Archives History Office, is in honor of Women's History Month and looks at the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service program, or WAVES, during World War II. Advertisement poster to join the WAVES. (National Archives Identifier 514649) Less than one year after the United States entered World … Continue reading WAVES: It’s a Woman’s War Too!

Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal

Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an expert archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri.  Far out in the New Mexico desert, the largest government-funded scientific endeavor culminated in the first nuclear detonation at the White Sands Missile Range. The bright flash followed by intense heat and billowing mushroom … Continue reading Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal

Historic Staff Spotlight: Eunice Whyte—Navy Veteran of both World Wars

As we commemorate Veterans Day, we want to thank all of the veterans who have served our country throughout the years. Today’s historic spotlight is on National Archives employee Eunice Whyte, who served in the U.S. Navy in both World Wars.  Only two women served in the U.S. Naval Reserves during both World War I … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: Eunice Whyte—Navy Veteran of both World Wars

Manuel Quezon and the Push for Philippine Independence

October is Filipino-American History Month, and we’re commemorating it with a post on Manuel Quezon and Philippine Independence from Alexandra Villaseran, an archivist with the Center for Legislative Archives.  Today there are six nonvoting members in the U.S. House of Representatives: a Resident Commissioner representing Puerto Rico and one Delegate each for the District of … Continue reading Manuel Quezon and the Push for Philippine Independence

The Calutron Girls

Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore, in the National Archives History Office, looks at the Calutron Girls in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II. Calutron was an acronym for “California University cyclotron,” named after the University of California, Berkeley, where the devices were developed. The highly anticipated July 21 release of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer, … Continue reading The Calutron Girls

Historic Staff Spotlight: John Mendelsohn

We are taking a look at past staff and their many contributions to the National Archives throughout history. Today’s staff spotlight is on John Mendelsohn, who was the National Archives expert on records related to the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Trials. Archivist John Mendelsohn displaying a page in one volume of the 39-volume set of … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: John Mendelsohn

The National Archives Recorded Music Association 

This month’s hashtag party is all about music—from instruments to marching bands, from R&B singers to orchestra leaders, from record players to boomboxes, let’s make a beautiful noise together. Join the conversation Friday, March 3, 2023, on Instagram and Twitter by using #ArchivesHashtagParty and #ArchivesMusic! During World War II, as part of an effort to … Continue reading The National Archives Recorded Music Association 

Facial Hair Friday: Carlton Chapman and the Ultimate Sacrifice

Carlton Chapman was born in Pembroke, a small town in Southwestern Virginia, in 1912. He was working for the Norfolk and Western Railway when the United States entered World War II. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a machine gunner with the 761st Tank Battalion. "Cpl. Carlton Chapman...is a machine-gunner … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Carlton Chapman and the Ultimate Sacrifice

Dr. Charles Drew: A Pioneer in Blood Transfusions

February is Black History Month. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our resources related to African American History. Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904–April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon, educator, and pioneering medical researcher on blood transfusions. He discovered that plasma had a longer shelf life than blood and could be separated to … Continue reading Dr. Charles Drew: A Pioneer in Blood Transfusions