April 20 to April 28 is National Park Week, and on April 20, 2024, the National Park Service is waiving park entrance fees to kick off the celebration. Today we’re looking at the northernmost national park in the United States—the Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve in Alaska.  Established in 1980, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve includes 8.5 million acres of the Alaska’s diverse ecosystems. Situated in the Endicott Mountains of the Brooks Range, the park is located completely within the Arctic Circle.  Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve ..read more

Today’s post comes from Saba Samy, an intern at the National Archives in Washington, DC.  On April 15, 1947, Jack Roosevelt (“Jackie”) Robinson made his debut in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. That year, Robinson also won the Rookie of the Year Award, making his entrance into the major league unforgettable as the first player to break the baseball “color line” against Black Americans. Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn Dodgers Uniform, 1950. (National Archives Identifier 6802718) Baseball has been a staple sport in the United States, woven into the social fabric of the nation’s ..read more

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Today’s post, an update of Riley Lindheimer’s 2017 piece, looks a solar eclipses past and present. Visit the National Archives website for more information. On April 8, 2024, the continental United States will experience the first total solar eclipse since 2017. This celestial phenomenon has inspired awe in viewers around the world for centuries. NARA staff Scott Barton at the National Archives solar eclipse viewing party, August 21, 2017. (NARA photo by Jeff Reed) Alth ..read more

March is Women’s History Month. Visit the National Archives website for resources and virtual events related to women’s history. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, Title VII prohibited discrimination by certain employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. State and local governments, however, were exempt.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signature page, July 2, 1964 (National Archives Identifier 299891)The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signature page, July 2, 1964 (National Archives Identifier 299891) In 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Execu ..read more

On Saturday a new exhibit opened in the National Archives Building, Power & Light: Russell Lee’s Coal Survey. It will run in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery until July 6, 2025. This exhibit features more than 200 of Russell Lee’s photographs of coal miners and their families.  Russell Lee, 1935. (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress) Russell Lee (1903–86) was a photographer who spent his early career working for the federal government. Starting during the Depression and working through the post–World War II years, Lee often documented harsh living conditions and the difficult cir ..read more

Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore in the National Archives History Office, is in honor of Women’s History Month and looks at the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service program, or WAVES, during World War II. Advertisement poster to join the WAVES. (National Archives Identifier 514649) Less than one year after the United States entered World War II, the Navy was facing a dire shortage of manpower. Searching for a solution, the Navy’s Women’s Advisory Council suggested that Congress pass a law permitting women to serve in the Navy. These women could operate the naval shore stations on the ..read more

160 years ago on leap day, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant to be Lieutenant General of the Army. Three years into the U.S. Civil War, with no end in sight, President Abraham Lincoln needed to find a commander who could lead the U.S. to victory. Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1861-1865. (National Archives Identifier 530592)Ulysses S. Grant, ca. 1861-1865. (National Archives Identifier 531118) On February 29, 1864, Lincoln signed legislation reviving the rank of lieutenant general—the highest rank in the Army of the United States at that time. Previously, only George Washington and Wi ..read more

Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an expert archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri.  Far out in the New Mexico desert, the largest government-funded scientific endeavor culminated in the first nuclear detonation at the White Sands Missile Range. The bright flash followed by intense heat and billowing mushroom cloud heralded the dawn of the atomic age. Physicists, nuclear scientists, chemists, and representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces who took part in the Manhattan Project would never forget their accomplishment. But their wor ..read more

February is Black History Month. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our resources related to African American history. Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore in the National Archives History Office, looks at the legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong, 1941. (Records of the United States Information Agency, National Archives) Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 (although he often claimed he was born on July 4, 1900), into a world immersed in the jazz of New Orleans’ saloons, social halls, and dance clubs. Raised largely by a single mother, Ma ..read more

Today’s post is an oldie but a goodie from our very own public affairs specialist Hilary Parkinson. While searching for images of owls in the National Archives Catalog for #SuperbOwl, I came across this curious photo of an owl wearing safety goggles. In the same search I found photographs of men shaking hands and showing off tiny owl lapel pins. Wise Owl Club display table with photos of three workers wearing safety glasses–and a stuffed owl wearing glasses. (National Archives Identifier 22118410) Turns out, these are photographs of inductees to the Wise Owl Club. Membership was ..read more