Thomas Jefferson The United States of America had barely set up a permanent government when its legislators, the Congress, determined that an in-house reference library was necessary to assist the senators and representatives of the two Houses to prepare materials for debates and legislation. Two hundred and eleven years ago…
This week, Massachusetts and Maine celebrate Patriots’ Day to honor those who stood up to face the world’s finest army in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. In the 236 years which have intervened, this historical event has spawned endless cultural activities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which chronicle…
It was on the Ides of March in 1820 (191 years ago this week) that Maine became the 23rd of the United States, part of the Missouri Compromise. (This Congressional agreement between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions involved primarily the regulation of the expansion of slavery into the western territories….
This week celebrates the 182nd anniversary of the birth of Carl Schurz. The name of Carl Schurz means little to most Americans today, but one hundred years ago, it was synonymous with integrity. This German immigrant advised presidents from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt, and his power and public voice were…
This day, February 28, marks the 70th anniversary (1941) of the death of Wallace Augustus Rayfield, an Alabama architect of local reknown, although now mostly forgotten. He is the first black architect in Alabama to practice professionally, and the second black architect in the United States to practice professionally. Not…
Jim Limber – James Henry Brooks On February 15, 1864, Varina Davis, the First Lady of the Confederacy, while conducting errands in Richmond, witnessed a small black boy being severely beaten by a black woman. Mrs. Davis, known for her kindness and concern for the welfare of others, drove away…
Abraham Lincoln was born 202 years ago on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky, and died in Washington, DC, on April 15, 1865, the victim of an assassin’s bullet. In his professional portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln, my husband Phillip often is asked if any…
5th Ave & 44th St location – 1897-1923 On February 2, 1827, Swiss immigrants Giovanni Del-Monico and his brother Pietro Antonio Del-Monico paid $312.50 to rent a quarter-house at No. 23 William Street in New York City. Sandwiched between the business district and the dwellings of most New Yorkers, the…
Deep snow of January 2011 This is a poor substitute for the blog posting that I didn’t write last week. Most of you around the country know why. It’s the same reason you didn’t read it. We’ve all been outside, shoveling snow. How about you? Have you dug out enough…
JOHN TYLER (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) During this week in history, John Tyler, 10th President of the United States, died on January 18, 1862. In his day, his opponents dubbed him “His Accidency” or “The Accidental President” because he was the first president to sit in the…
