Today in History
November 14
1915: Booker T. Washington, educator who was the first president of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, died. That institution is now known as Tuskegee University.
1732: The Library Company of Philadelphia signed a contract with its first librarian. Founded by Benjamin Franklin and friends in November 1731, the library enrolled members for a fee of forty shillings but had to wait for books to arrive from England before beginning full operation. (Source: Library of Congress)
STAY CURRENT
Nov. 10, 1975: The SS Edmund Fitzgerald Sinks in Lake Superior
Editor's Note: Fifty-one years after the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Nov. 10, 1975 during an unusually powerful November storm in Lake Superior, interest...
Veterans Day is a Day On, Not Off
Editor's Note: In 2020, I interviewed Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown (Ret.) at his home in Port Clinton, Ohio, a coastal community located on...
SCIENCE IN HISTORY
Beta-Carotene: a Pumpkin Power Pigment
Editor's Note: When asked, many people will say fall is their favorite season of the year. I am one of them. The crisp fall...
Pathfinder Pilot Recalls D-Day
Editor's Note: In May 2019 I traveled to Oxford, Connecticut for media day hosted by the D-Day Squadron as they prepared to depart to...
See the Forest AND the Trees at Redwood National Park
Editor's Note: In 2015, I visited a redwood forest in northern California for the first time. Before arriving at the edge of the forest,...
Take a Hike – Into a Cauldron!
Editor's Note: In 2015, I visited Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. Its history is the history of the National Park Service because...
Glass: a Hot and Cool Combo of Art and Science
Editor's note: One of the hottest and coolest stories I have covered was my 2016 visit to the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion...
Sneakers Have Soles – and Soul
Editor's note: In December 2015 I learned of a new exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art - The Rise of Sneaker Culture. Curated...
RECOMMENDED READING
Book Recommendation: Code Girls by Liza Mundy
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