Today’s post is by John LeGloahec, Archives Specialist in the Electronics Records Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Maine - Owls Head (NAID: 45691056, Local Identifier: 26-LG-4-59). One of the things I love most about working at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is that I can always look at records … Continue reading From Sea to Shining Sea: Lighthouses of America in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places
Today’s post is by Joseph P. Keefe, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Boston. The USS Braine was a twenty-one-ton Fletcher class destroyer which had been built and launched at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine in March of 1943. Following her participation in General Douglas MacArthur’s campaign to retake the Philippines, the … Continue reading The Kamikaze Attack on the USS Braine, May 27, 1945
Today’s post is by Joseph P. Keefe, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Boston. When the American Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861, the newly formed Confederate States of America had no ships to speak of in its navy. In the months leading up to the war, the Confederate government sought the … Continue reading The United States vs the Ship Bat: A Civil War Prize Case
Today's post is a reposting of an earlier article written by M Marie Maxwell, an Archives Specialist in the Archives Processing & Holdings Security Branch in Washington, DC. This was originally posted on November 28, 2014. Earlier this month millions of Americans voted. Voting is one of the hallmarks of our democracy, and one method … Continue reading NAACP vs the Washington DC Police Department
Today’s post is by John LeGloahec, Archives Specialist in the Electronics Records Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Map of the United States and their Territories (National Archives Identifier 6860623). In this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, with so many people at home, summer vacation plans on hold or canceled, the future … Continue reading National Park Service Passport Handy? Come Tour the Nation’s National Register of Historic Places
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The tight restrictions on travelers in the USSR closed more than 97% of that country to most foreigners. The travel restrictions particularly affected diplomats from the Western Powers. Nevertheless, from time to time, staff of … Continue reading An American Car on the Road in the USSR, 1972
Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Records Branch at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The name itself conjures up visions of handcuffs, underwater submersions, and impossible escapes. For just a moment imagine yourself in a large theater in the early 1900s. From the upper balcony, surrounded by … Continue reading Searching for Houdini
This post was written by Audrey Amidon. Audrey is a Preservation Specialist in the Motion Picture Preservation Lab and writes for The Unwritten Record. James Wong Howe was one of America’s greatest cinematographers, with a career stretching from the golden age of silent cinema to the early 1970s. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, Howe won … Continue reading James Wong Howe: Hollywood’s Ace Cinematographer
By Andrew Begley, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Boston When the First Congress passed “An Act for the establishment and support of Lighthouses, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers” on August 7, 1789, there were only twelve lighthouses illuminating the shores of the newly formed nation. By 1842, that number had grown to 250. … Continue reading Winslow Lewis and the Expansion of Early Federal Lighthouses
Today's post was written by David Langbart, archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, often referred to as the “Spanish flu,” was the greatest pandemic of the 20th Century. It killed upwards of 50 million people worldwide, striking without regard to country or social … Continue reading The “Spanish Flu” Pandemic of 1918-1919: A Death in Paris
