Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. One of the mainstays of intelligence collection is photography. Among the variety of images collected are overhead photography, aerial photography, and what can only be called regular photography. All three types are represented in … Continue reading Photographic Intelligence: The Civil War
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. On January 21, 1963, at the behest of McGeorge Bundy at the White House, the Department of State sent a circular telegram to 14 embassies in Europe and the U.S. mission in Geneva.[i] The … Continue reading Why Did You Wake Us Up in the Middle of the Night?: Use of NIACT, 1963
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The presidential election of 1972 came in the midst of the U.S. rapprochement with the USSR known as detente. Earlier in the year, President Richard Nixon traveled to Moscow for a major summit with … Continue reading The Presidential Election of 1972: Analysis of Soviet Bloc Opinion
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Several investigations followed the near-disaster at Three Mile Island. The most important was the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island established by President Jimmy Carter in April 1979. The twelve-member panel … Continue reading International Aspects of the Three Mile Island Incident III: Follow Up
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The overseas reaction to the Three Mile Island accident was varied. In most countries the response was muted but there were exceptions. Examples of the different reactions include (All referenced telegrams can be viewed … Continue reading International Aspects of the Three Mile Island Incident II: International Reaction
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Shortly after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, the U.S. embassy in Great Britain submitted a despatch entitled "The Role of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh" (now in … Continue reading A Look Ahead at the New Queen, 1953
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. On February 6, 1952, King George VI of Great Britain died and his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, ascended to the throne. Formal coronation of the new Queen took place on June 2, 1953. President Dwight … Continue reading The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Upon assuming the crown in February 1952, the British "empire" led by Queen Elizabeth II consisted of a conglomeration of states and territories bound together in various ways. There were a number of sovereign … Continue reading Queen Elizabeth II: Changing Circumstances, Changing Titles
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. Part I described the SKYLAB program and international concerns about its reentry. Beginning in April 1979, and with increasing frequency as the date approached, the Department of State informed overseas posts of the date … Continue reading What Goes Up Must Come Down: Dealing With the International Aspects of the Demise of SKYLAB, Part II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. The reentry of space debris carries the potential to cause a major international incident. While most such remains burn up in the atmosphere, larger pieces can survive and cause damage, injury, or even death … Continue reading What Goes Up Must Come Down: Dealing With the International Aspects of the Demise of SKYLAB, Part I
