What can you say about a man, his accordion, a clock, and a bottle? We went to guest judge and social media coordinator Jeannie Chen, who once featured a infant President Ford holding a tiny accordion on the Presidential Libraries tumblr blog. Congratulations to Mickey! Your caption won Jeannie's heart and got that Croce tune stuck in … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest
Did you know that the 13 Presidential libraries are part of the National Archives? The National Archives is a nonpartisan agency, and we care for all the paper and digital records—as well as Presidential gifts and other items—that are part of the President's legacy. These documents are preserved and made accessible at the 13 Presidential … Continue reading The Presidents are expecting you!
Congratulations, Teresa Martin Klaiber, for bringing a smile to the face of Gwen Granados, our guest judge from the National Archives at Riverside. She shared this photograph with us, and we all agreed it was eminently caption-worthy. (Teresa, if you send an e-mail to prologue@nara.gov, I can send you your 15% discount code to use at … Continue reading Thursday caption contest
Congratulations to LisaLou! Your caption tugged the entrepreneurial heartstrings of guest judge Suzanne Isaacs, who makes sure all the great images we use are available to the public in ARC. Check your e-mail for 15% off in the eStore! This photo was suggested to us by Laura of the Foundation for the National Archives. She thought … Continue reading Thursday Caption Contest
Springtime in Washington, DC, makes people think of cherry blossoms—and pandas. While keepers and panda fans anxiously wait for signs that the National Zoo's Mei Xiang may be expecting a cub, we remember the first pandas to live at the zoo. President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China in February 1972 opened diplomatic and trade … Continue reading “Panda”monium at the National Zoo
Congratulations to Holly! Our guest judge was archivist Joan Gearin, who thought your caption did add up. Check your email for your discount code to the eStore. (We should note that Joan is the author of the most popular Prologue article ever written. Every time The Sound of Music is aired on television, "The Real … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest
On April 12, 1955, a vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective. Jonas E. Salk's great discovery was too late for President Franklin Roosevelt, who had contracted polio in 1921, at age 39, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. But the President, who died in 1945, had been instrumental in funding research that eventually led … Continue reading The dimes that saved lives
Harry S. Truman was never really fond of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, especially after their frosty 1950 Wake Island meeting in the Pacific while the Korean War raged. Things had not gone particularly well since the North Koreans invaded South Korea in late June 1950. By October, South Korean troops had pushed across the 38th parallel, … Continue reading “You’re Fired!”
When Robert Peary wrote "The pole at last!!!" into his diary on April 6, 1909, he had no idea that his claim would be disputed for the next several decades by experts who doubted that he and Matthew A. Henson were the first men to reach the North Pole. Marie Peary Stafford had no such doubts, … Continue reading “The pole at last!”
A search for "Rosenberg" in the Open Public Access system of the National Archives brings up a strange and poignant collection of documents: a passport picture of a family with the mother clutching a tiny infant, childlike sketches of shapes, a smiling couple, and an empty Jell-O box. In September 1949, the White House announced the … Continue reading Fat Man, Little Boy, A Packet of Jell-O
