Department of State and Related Foreign Affairs Agencies.
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. One of Muhammad Ali's signature fights, perhaps even more famous than his wins over Sonny Liston, is the world heavyweight match with George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, in October 1974. Given that the fight … Continue reading The Department of State Reports on the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali Fight (‘The Rumble in the Jungle’) 1974, Part I
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Last week's post discussed President Nixon's resignation and foreign policy. Among the countries potentially most affected by the transfer of the Presidency was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). President Nixon had developed and … Continue reading Foreign Reaction to President Nixon’s Resignation
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Forty-two years ago today, President Richard M. Nixon resigned from office. Resignation Letter of Richard Nixon August 9, 1974 NAID 302035 While generally thought of as an internal U.S. crisis, given the inter-relationship between … Continue reading President Nixon’s Resignation and Foreign Policy
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Malvin "Mal" Whitfield, a gold medal-winning track star of the 1948 and 1952 U.S. Olympic Teams died in November 2015. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in June 2016. Whitfield served in the … Continue reading Malvin Whitfield: Ambassador for Track and Field
Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The Textual Records Division is in the midst of a large-scale project to identify and refile a large volume of "orphan" records. These are documents and files that have become separated from their proper … Continue reading The Approach of World War II: A View from the U.S. Embassy in Poland
Today's post was written by David Langbart, Reference Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. John Kelly, a respected columnist for the Washington Post, recently (June 14, 2016) wrote about Brooks Harding’s “Four Freedoms Flag.” Harding designed the flag to represent the countries fighting against Axis tyranny during World War II, commonly referred to … Continue reading A Flag for the United Nations
Today's post was written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. President Obama will visit Cuba later this month. It will be only the second time an incumbent President visits that island nation. The first presidential visitor was Calvin Coolidge in 1928, when he attended the Sixth International Conference of American … Continue reading The President Goes to Cuba: 1928
Today's post was written by Alan Walker, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. It’s all well and good to have defined boundaries between countries, but somebody has to go out and make sure that they are accurate. And that’s what survey teams from the Coast and Geodetic Survey did for many years, especially … Continue reading Walk the Line
Today's post was written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880. As his 70th birthday approached, he was serving as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in occupied Japan. In that position he had significant interaction with the Department of State. In … Continue reading Douglas MacArthur Turns 70: Birthday Greetings from the Secretary of State
By David Langbart Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, a long-time medical officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), died recently. Her obituaries describe a long and distinguished career at the FDA but highlight her role in preventing the approval of the drug Thalidomide for use in the United States. When used by pregnant women, that … Continue reading The Department of State and the Battle Against Thalidomide
