This post, by Megan Huang in the National Archives History Office, was originally published in 2018 marking the centenary of the 1918 influenza. It has been updated with additional images. Masks as protection against influenza. Street cleaner wearing the influenza mask, 10/16/1918. (National Archives Identifier 45499357) The 1918 influenza pandemic was a pandemic in the … Continue reading Wear a Mask and Save Your Life: The 1918 Flu Pandemic
April 12 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock, archives technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” —Franklin … Continue reading The Death of a President
Today’s post comes from Dorothy Dougherty, Programs Director at the National Archives at New York City. Matthew Henson, the famous African American explorer, worked nearly 20 years with Admiral Robert Peary exploring the Arctic. On April 6, 1909, Henson and Peary successfully made it to the North Pole, where Henson is credited with placing the U.S. … Continue reading New York City U.S. Custom House Employee: Matthew Henson
April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and today’s Facial Hair Friday honors Washington, DC’s very own mustachioed jazz man: Duke Ellington. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899, in Washington, DC, Duke Ellington was the greatest jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader of his time. His career spanned more than six decades during which he composed … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Duke Ellington
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, but this landmark event was neither the beginning nor the end of the story for women and their struggle for the right to vote. Join us in 2020 as we commemorate this centennial year with 12 stories from our holdings for you to save, print, or share. April’s featured image is of … Continue reading 19th Amendment at 100: Mary Louise Bottineau Baldwin
March is Women’s History Month. Visit the National Archives website for resources related to women’s history. Today's post comes from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Public and Media Communications office. When the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on its second mission in 1992, it carried the first African American woman into space. But Mae … Continue reading Mae Jemison: First Black Woman in Space
This is the fourth installment of a series about unratified constitutional amendments. Today we’re looking at an amendment proposed during the Progressive Era to regulate child labor. During the Progressive Era, muckraking journalists and photographers drew public attention to a myriad of America’s social problems, one of them being the exploitation of children. Perhaps most … Continue reading Unratified Amendments: Regulating Child Labor
To commemorate National Women’s Inventor’s Month and celebrate women innovators, we are highlighting Civil War–era inventor Clarissa Britain. Britain secured patents for seven inventions within 18 months. Today's post comes from Jen Johnson, curator at the National Archives at Kansas City. Britain's Patent No. 40,157, Improvements in boilers, October 6, 1863. (Records of the Patent and … Continue reading Teacher, Principal, and Inventor Clarissa Britain
In celebration of Women Inventors Month and Women's History Month, the National Archives commemorates the extraordinary women who have made great contributions throughout American history. Today's post comes from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Office of Public and Media Communications. In 1917, American sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd moved from the United States to France … Continue reading Anna Coleman Ladd: An Artist Who Created Hope for Wounded Soldiers
In celebration of Women’s History Month today’s Facial Hair Friday is in honor of a Beard: Mary Ritter Beard to be exact. Mary Ritter Beard was a historian, author, woman suffrage activist, social reformer, and archivist! Born Mary Ritter in 1876, in Indianapolis, Indiana, she met future husband Charles Austin Beard while attending college. After … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Mary Ritter Beard
