Criminals, Outlaws, Law Enforcement, Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), etc.
An earlier post discussed the Department of State reaction to the publication of The Invisible Government by David Wise and Thomas Ross. That book was one of the first “exposés” of Central Intelligence Agency activities. As the 60s wore on, critical books appeared in ever greater numbers, some penned by former CIA officers. One of … Continue reading The Department of State Reacts to Public Revelations of Intelligence Activities, 1969
Today's post was written by Lynn Nashorn, textual processing and accessioning archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Looking South from the Bronx to Manhattan, May 1973 (NAID 548407) Born on June 25, 1954 in The Bronx in New York City, Sonia Sotomayor overcame personal and professional adversity to become the first woman of … Continue reading From the Bronx to the Bench: Sonia Sotomayor’s Trailblazing Journey to the Supreme Court
Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. On June 25, 1941, an order was drafted which would establish William J. Donovan's wished-for intelligence agency as the Office of Coordinator of Strategic Information (for background see: William J. Donovan and the Establishment of the Office of … Continue reading The Creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Today’s post was written by Lynn Nashorn, textual processing and accessioning archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Called many names from the Iran-Contra Scandal to the McFarlane affair (after National Security Advisor under President Ronald Reagan Robert McFarlane) to simply Iran Contra, the Iran-Contra affair involved United States officials illegally funding Central American … Continue reading The Iran-Contra Affair: Faded in Time, but not Forgotten
Today’s post is by Megan Dwyre, Special Access and FOIA Program Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Many of us are familiar with this photo of Elvis Presley’s famous meeting with President Richard Nixon, which took place on December 21, 1970. It is the most requested image in NARA’s holdings and the … Continue reading “Don’t Be Cruel”: Elvis Presley’s Visit to FBI Headquarters
Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In July 1940, several weeks after France capitulated to Germany, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox proposed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Secretary of State Cordell Hull that someone be sent to England to study the … Continue reading William J. Donovan and the Establishment of the Office of the Coordinator of Information, July 1940-July 1941
Today’s post is by Megan Dwyre, Special Access and FOIA Program Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Salvador Dalí was born 117 years ago today on May 11, 1904 in Figueras, Spain. This post highlights Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters case file 100-142631 on the famous Surrealist painter (NAID 16591992). In … Continue reading The Surreal Suspect: The FBI’s Brief Investigation of Salvador Dalí
Today's post was written by Christen Brown, Archives Technician in the Special Media Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD. April 17 to April 20, 2021 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion when Cuban refugees banded together to invade Cuba and overthrow the Castro regime. When the Cuban Revolution … Continue reading The Ex-Men Did It: 60th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Today’s post is by Claire Kluskens, Genealogy/Census Subject Matter Expert and Digital Projects Archivist at the National Archives in Washington, DC. On August 28, 1884, a lawyer named A. A. Chambers helped Patrick McGroury of Manalapan, New Jersey, write a letter of inquiry to the Bureau of Pensions about James Hogan, who lived nearby. McGroury … Continue reading Mrs. Hartshorne’s Estate Sale and the Joking Neighbor of Patrick McGroury of Manalapan, New Jersey
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Early in my career at the National Archives, my branch chief assigned me the task of describing the records of the American Heritage Foundation, part of the National Archives Gift Collection. This sounded boring, and somewhat was … Continue reading The Freedom Train, 1947-1949
