Tutu and Gore smiling and shaking hands

Desmond Tutu, October 1931-December 2021

Archbishop Desmond Tutu greets Vice President Al Gore, May 10, 1994 (NAID 24717040) Bishop Desmond Tutu died on December 26, 2021.  He was best known for his human rights and nonviolence activities while the Anglican bishop of Johannesburg and then the archbishop of Cape Town, the first Black person to hold either position.  Tutu was a hero of … Continue reading Desmond Tutu, October 1931-December 2021

Attempted Assassination of a U.S. Ambassador, 1921

The murder of U.S. diplomats overseas is usually considered a modern phenomenon – a result of increased terrorist activities beginning in the 1960s.  While some American diplomats were murdered overseas earlier, John Mein, then U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, was the first sitting American Ambassador to be killed overseas.  He died on August 28, 1968, during … Continue reading Attempted Assassination of a U.S. Ambassador, 1921

Document with handwriting

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why William Carman’s Tintype Was in His Widow’s Pension File

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This is the final of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Record Group 15). Photographic image from the approved pension application file of Emeline Carman, … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why William Carman’s Tintype Was in His Widow’s Pension File

Face of Civil War Soldier

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why Private William Carman Sent a Tintype to His Wife

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This is the second of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Record Group 15). Photographic image from the approved pension application file of Emeline Carman, … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why Private William Carman Sent a Tintype to His Wife

portrait of a woman in a gilded frame

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Your Questions Answered

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. **Please note that the following post contains graphic images that may be disturbing to some readers.** This is the first of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Your Questions Answered

Department of State Territorial Papers Now Available Online

Additional Department of State records are now available online.  The newly-posted records stem from one of the Department’s original functions later transferred to another agency – oversight of affairs in the territories of the United States.  You will find a description of other Department of State records now online in this series of occasional posts.  … Continue reading Department of State Territorial Papers Now Available Online

Black Bull posing with his granddaughter outdoors

Meet Black Bull: A Story of Blackfeet Genealogy

Today’s post is by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver and Subject Matter Expert for Native American Related Records. The Blackfeet Agency superintendent arrived at the well-maintained spread in the Heart Butte District—“probably the nicest home on Little Badger,” as another official traveling with him noted—to make the rounds of the reservation … Continue reading Meet Black Bull: A Story of Blackfeet Genealogy

capsized ship

Shipwrecked! Shipwrecks Found in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places

This post is part of an ongoing “road trip” featuring records from the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017 (National Archives ID 20812721), a series within Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service. "SHIPWRECK BEACH" ON THE ISLAND'S EASTERN SHORE [Lanai, Hawaii]--SO CALLED FROM THE MANY … Continue reading Shipwrecked! Shipwrecks Found in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places

More Department of State Records Now Available Online: Diplomatic Instructions, 1785-1906 & Consular Instructions, 1801-1834

The National Archives is pleased to announce that more records of the Department of State have been digitized and are now available online through the National Archives Catalog.  This is the fourth in a series of occasional posts.  It is the final post describing the records that constitute the “central files” of the Department for … Continue reading More Department of State Records Now Available Online: Diplomatic Instructions, 1785-1906 & Consular Instructions, 1801-1834

map of Austria showing occupation zones

Soviet-American Cooperation Regarding Hitler’s Führer Museum Documentation, 1945-1946

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. Adolf Hitler desired to create a museum in Linz, Austria, to house art objects he had acquired before and during World War II. The German art authorities created a large quantity of documentation relating to the acquisition of … Continue reading Soviet-American Cooperation Regarding Hitler’s Führer Museum Documentation, 1945-1946