Description: While digitizing the collection of Smithsonian entomologist Doris Holmes Blake, I discovered a treasure trove of correspondence that sheds light about growing up as a young woman in the mid-20th century and the story of an intimate mother-daughter relationship.
Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives makes thousands of historic images of the exhibits, events, and happenings at the Smithsonian available online and, as the year comes to a close, we thought this would be a good time to take a look at some of the year’s most popular Smithsonian History images. You can search the History of the Smithsonian catalog at siris.si.edu to find
Description: In December 1978, Gloria Steinem met with the Smithsonian Institution Women’s Council (SIWC) to advise the group on carrying out the work of change at the Smithsonian and to broaden members’ understanding of the women’s movement. As described by attendees, the conversation was “dynamite…great…wonderful.” One member expressed her surprise at finding Steinem so agreeable;
Description: When tragedy struck during the space shuttle era, mourners found a place to honor the fallen astronauts of the tragic Challenger and Columbia flights at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Description: Thanks to a generous grant from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, the Archives will digitize, catalog, and make available 7,500 historic photographs of the Smithsonian from Record Unit 95.
Description: Artist Georgia O’Keeffe and the Hirshhorns had a friendly relationship. Read about how the two almost negotiated a deal to create a room dedicated to her work at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Description: Everyone loves a parade – especially one followed by a banquet. When scientists and politicians met in Washington, D.C., on November 23, 1936, to celebrate the centennial of the U.S. patent system, they listened first to a conventional program of speeches. Then, in the afternoon, Science Service director Watson Davis arranged something different: a “Research Parade” featuring
Description: In the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Exhibits, Margaret Jane Russell Roller (1888-1973) had begun to specialize in fabricating lifelike wax models of food and animals.