August 23, 2012, would have been Gene Kelly’s 100th birthday. While that would be reason enough to browse America's Historical Newspapers for coverage of his life and work, 2012 is also the 60th...
Eva Braun (1912-1945) In his recent review of Heike Görtemaker’s new book Eva Braun: Life with Hitler (New York Review of Books, Vol. 59, No. 7, Apr. 26, 2012), British historian Antony Beevor writes...
Isadora Duncan was dance-struck as a young child in San Francisco. By the time she was six, she was teaching neighborhood children how to move like ocean waves. The strict rules of ballet and...
What activities might make up the archetypal life of a 19th-century American man? Items on such a checklist could include: Samuel Clemens checked off many of these items: He was a sailor, if on the...
May 27, 2012, is the 75th anniversary of the opening celebrations of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. When it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It spanned the mile-wide...
“It was downright indecent. I saw women go out after the creatures had begun what they call their dance. I did not stay it through. I just couldn’t.” (1) (A woman’s indignant account of her visit to...
No novelist would dare to picture such an array of beautiful climatic conditions—the rosy dawn, the morning star, the moon on the horizon, the sea stretching in level beauty to the skyline—and on this...
Thousands of ships over centuries have lined the ocean floor, but even 100 years after it sank, the Titanic still fascinates. James Cameron’s 1997 critically acclaimed "Titanic"—the second bestselling...
Dr. James McCune Smith. Source: New-York Historical Society In 2010 descendents of Dr. James McCune Smith, a prominent abolitionist leader and prolific author, discovered and dedicated his unmarked...
Nothing says “home” quite like a map of Alaska and adjacent lands shown as Russian and British territory—with annotations in French! “Map showing Russian territory of Alaska and coastline of western...
Lincoln J. Beachey (March 3, 1887 – March 14, 1915) In the early 20th century, aviator Lincoln Beachey and his Curtis biplane amazed and delighted crowds with the “Dip of Death” and his mastery of...
Downton Abbey, a PBS drama about the English aristocracy and their servants during the Edwardian era, has become a cult hit in the United States. A great deal of its appeal is nostalgia for an elegant...
From The Idaho Statesman (April 30, 1911). Source: American Newspaper Archives Today’s woman has a wealth of information at her fingertips on how to get ahead at work. Books such as Nice Girls Don’t...
Finding Fatalism and Overconfidence in a Cruel Port: The Bubonic Plague’s First Appearance in Brazil By Ian Olivo Read, Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies, Soka University of America...
Michael Morpurgo’s fictional story “War Horse” has gone from a beloved children's book to successful stage production to bestselling Hollywood movie directed by Steven Spielberg. But who were the real...
The Morning Oregonian (Aug. 23, 1908) It was 100 years ago this month that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, reached the South Pole. For the first time, two expeditions were making attempts to...
Today is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Here's how four American newspapers reported it the next day on their front pages. For more information about American Newspaper Archives...
Artist's sketch of D. B. Cooper (Photo: Seattle FBI) The first aircraft hijackings were political. Leave it to American ingenuity to monetize the action! D.B. Cooper, not his real name, did it in 1971...
When reading accounts of the tragic conflict between whites and Native Americans, such as Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, one cannot help but wonder why the Indians did not see the whites...
Bobby Jones entered the Roaring Twenties still the teenage prodigy who had first come to the public's attention when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship at the age of 14. By the end of the...
As a Readex account executive, I enjoy the opportunity to help bring our digital collections to the attention of students and scholars at some of the smallest four-year colleges. Occasionally, this...
[The article below by University of Georgia professor Stephen Mihm first appeared in The Readex Report (Sept. 2008). Last month, an op-ed by Mihm headlined " The Biographer's New Best Friend" was...
Title: Native dance by Spanish-American. Fiesta, Taos, New Mexico. Photographer: Russell Lee (1903-1986). Source: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection...
Updated January 14, 2025 Guest author Kelly J. Baker is an essayist, historian, and journalist with a PhD in religious studies. She has written for a variety of publications including The New York...
