Bike to Work Day - not just a good idea, it’s the law!
Traffic violator driving a 1900-vintage car being stopped by a policeman on a bicycle
(We’re joking of course, though we agree it’s a great idea)
May 10, 1869, the ceremonial Golden Spike was struck, connecting the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The 2000 miles of transcontinental track reduced the overland trip from four to six months to six days.
Photograph of Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory, Utah, 05/10/1869
Join us Wednesday, May 9, at noon for the return of Archives Jeopardy!
Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero hosts another edition of Archives Jeopardy! Audience members will be selected to test their historical knowledge and win prizes. It’s free and open to the public.
Join us in the William G. McGowan Theater, located in the National Archives Building on 700 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC.
Watching lift-off from the White House
President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and others watch the lift-off of the first American in space, Astronaut Alan Shepard. The television is in the Office of the President’s Secretary in White House. 5/5/61
-from the JFK Library
1 Year of Today’s Document on Tumblr!
May marks our 1-year anniversary here on Tumblr — and we’ve had a blast! Unbelievably in that time we’ve grown to over 20,000 followers! Here’s a celebratory look back at our 1100+ posts from the last year.
From the Today’s Document team at the National Archives, we just wanted to give a quick thanks to Tumblr and our fellow history nerds, fans, rebloggers and all our other followers!
What was your favorite Today’s Document?
The Archives I Conservation lab is featured in a wonderful two-page spread in the May 2012 issue of Washingtonian magazine. On pages 26-27, the spread is in the “Capital Comment” section called “Behind the Scenes” and is titled”Treasure Trove.” Congratulations to Morgan Zinsmeister, Annie Wilker, and Daniel Dancis!
On this day in 1789, George Washington delivered the first Presidential Inaugural Address.
George Washington’s first inauguration took place at Federal Hall in New York City, where the first Congress was assembled. Keenly aware of the momentousness of the occasion, Washington accepted the Presidency and spoke of his determination to make the American experiment a success. All eight pages of the speech delivered to Congress are in George Washington’s own clear and distinctive handwriting.
Here are images of the opening of George Washington’s first inaugural address, April 30, 1789; and a portrait of President Washington hanging in the Oval Office of the White House, 11/5/1946. ID #199469
Louisiana Purchase Treaty
In this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward.
![Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2fb0ltw2K1qhk04bo1_1280.gif)
Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »
The Revolutionary War’s first battle—reported firsthand
On April 24, 1775, John Robins gave this account of the battle of Lexington, Massachusetts. Robins supports his commander’s account reporting that the militia began dispersing when they were fired upon by a thousand of the King’s troops being led by three mounted officers. Robins was wounded in the action.
Along with several other depositions from the battle, this was delivered to the Massachusetts Assembly and later forwarded to the Continental Congress, providing the American perception of the battle. While they all reveal differences in their accounts, they uniformly maintain the consensus as stated by Captain John Parker, that the British “fired upon and killed eight of our party, without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.”
The first battles of the American Revolution occurred at the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Shown here is the deposition of Captain John Parker of the Lexington Militia, describing the initial events of the day.
On 18 April 1942 the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) launched U.S. Army bombers for the first U.S. air attack on Japan. The mission was led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle. Here, an Army Air Force B-25B bomber takes off at the start of the raid. Note the men watching from the signal lamp platform at right. National Archives Photo 80-G-41196.
The New DocsTeach App for iPad!
This week our Education colleagues at the National Archives announced the DocsTeach App for iPad, extending the dynamic learning opportunities available from the DocsTeach.org website to iPad users. (This marks the second mobile app from the National Archives, joining our Today’s Document app.)
Using the app, you can choose a topic, such as “Civics & Government” or “Postwar U.S. 1945 – early 1970s,” and challenge yourself with a DocsTeach activity to interact with stories, events, and ideas of the past. All activities are based on primary source documents from the holdings of the National Archives, such as the U.S. Constitution, the canceled check for the purchase of Alaska, and Thomas Edison’s patent drawing for the light bulb. The activities were created by the National Archives education team and an army of DocsTeach users.
On Wednesday the National Archives announced the Legislative Archives Fellowship for 2012. Last year the Archivist of the United States created the Fellowship to support scholarly work in United States history, based on research in the records of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The Foundation for the National Archives generously provided a total stipend of $10,000 for the Fellowship.
Applications for the 2012 Fellowship will be accepted by email until midnight EDT May 16, 2012. The recipient will be selected by July 1, 2012. Research proposals will be considered on any topic requiring research in the historical records of Congress housed at the National Archives Center for Legislative Archives. Find out how to apply.
“Careful Examination” by Clifford K. Berryman, 7/16/1918, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011459)
Sketch of the Battle Field of Shiloh showing the disposition of the Troops under the command of Major General D. C. Buell on the 6th and 7th of April 1862.
The Battle of Shiloh began 150 years ago today on April 6, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee. The costliest battle of the war up to that point, it would only foreshadow the carnage yet to come.
