It was impossible to decide if "Treeus" was funnier than references to Santa or poor drivers, so we asked for assistance from our guest judge Laura Brandt, who manages the Foundation for the National Archives Facebook page. After much agony, she decided that David T's caption held the most humor and historical value. This two … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Monday is a federal holiday, but what holiday is it? So many ads on television and in print tell us it's Presidents/President's/Presidents' Day. Images of Lincoln and Washington sometimes accompany these ads. But here at the National Archives, we know it's still officially Washington's Birthday. This year the holiday is actually close to GW's birthday … Continue reading It’s Washington’s Birthday—really
We chortled our way through your captions last week! Finally, unable to decide between references to white shoes, Project Runway, or Baltimore, we turned to our guest, Susan Cooper, Director of Communications at the National Archives. Congratulations to Rebecca! Susan thought that her quote by Cecil Beaton best communicated the spirit of this picture. Indeed, … Continue reading Thursday’s Caption Contest
We're excited to pass the winning torch to our reader Michael P., whose caption met the high standard of our guest judge, National Archives editrix Maureen MacDonald. Congratulations, Michael P! You can use your 30% discount at the Archives eStore to buy something to read by lantern light. The actual caption on the photo in the Kennedy Library is … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
"Charge 1 . . . Gross neglect of Duty." "Charge 2 . . . Disobedience of Orders." On January 28, 1831, a court-martial convened at the U.S. Military Academy found the defendant guilty of these charges and "adjudg[ed] that the Cadet E. A. Poe be dismissed." So ended Edgar Allan Poe's short career at West … Continue reading Edgar Allan Poe’s military career? Nevermore!
Jan Wilson, it's been a long wait, but you can now claim the honor of being our last captioner of 2010 and our first declared winner of 2011. President Truman was a practical (and frugal) guy, so why wouldn't he be able to step up and give tips on Christmas tree gadgetry? As far as … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
While poking around the web while I ate my lunch, I discovered that today is Squirrel Appreciation Day! I know many gardeners can't stand the little beasts, and when we tried to grow tomatoes a couple of summers ago, I didn't feel too friendly toward them, either. But usually I'm quite taken by these fluffy-tailed guys. … Continue reading Have you hugged a squirrel today?
Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been 82 on January 15, and yesterday we observed the national holiday in his honor. The above photograph shows a January 18, 1964, White House meeting between four civil rights leaders—Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Whitney Young—and President Lyndon Johnson. A civil rights bill was stuck in the … Continue reading January 18, 1964 – Martin Luther King, Jr. & LBJ
It's always exciting to uncover a new piece of history, and even more exciting to discover a whole new treasure trove of thousands of pieces of history. Today the John F. Kennedy Library is launching a new Digital Archives that contains over 200,000 digitized documents; 300 reels of audiotape containing over 1,200 individual recordings of telephone … Continue reading Explore the new Digital Archives at the Kennedy Library
If you think the Constitution is just a few pieces of parchment in a glass case, think again! It may have been written 223 years ago, but it's still making headlines. This morning, the Constitution was on the front page of the printed Washington Post. This week has been a big one for the Constitution in the news—the document received … Continue reading How much do you know about the Constitution?
