Innovation in History: Revolutionary Narratives
To 2026 or not to 2026? That is the question… With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution approaching, many historians, teachers, historic sites, and museums are considering how to [...]
To 2026 or not to 2026? That is the question… With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution approaching, many historians, teachers, historic sites, and museums are considering how to [...]
The Statue of Liberty – A Universal Symbol of Political Freedom and Democracy By Donna K. Keesling You probably know her as the Statue of Liberty or Lady Liberty, but [...]
Fresnel Lenses: Illuminating the Seacoast By Donna K. Keesling From the earliest times, man attempted to light the shoreline so that seagoing vessels would have a safer passage. But it [...]
Radio City Music Hall – “The Showplace of the Nation” Turns 90 By Donna K. Keesling In late 1929, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. decided to build a complex of [...]
Tutankhamun: 100 Years Since Carter’s Wonderful Discovery By Donna K. Keesling When British archaeologist Howard Carter declared that he saw “wonderful things” when he peeked into the tomb of Tutankhamun, [...]
Valley Forge: A Place of Transformation for the Continental Army By Donna K. Keesling In Dember of 1777, the Continental Army established its winter encampment in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Historian [...]
Pullman – America’s First Planned Industrial Community By Donna K. Keesling What comes to mind when you hear the word “Pullman?” Do you think of elegant railway sleeper cars from [...]
The WASP – First American Women to Fly for their Country By Donna K. Keesling In the late summer of 1942, twenty-eight experienced civilian women pilots volunteered to ferry aircraft [...]
Dr. Robert Krim’s work over the past 20 years has been focused on Boston’s four centuries innovation. He worked with a team to establish a very broad organization – The [...]
Chautauqua Institution: A Model for Life-Long Learning By Donna K. Keesling Founded in 1874 as a summer assembly to train Sunday school teachers, Chautauqua Institution evolved into an active community [...]
Camp David – The Presidential Retreat By Donna K. Keesling The president of the United States lives a very public life, especially when he is at the White House. Each [...]
Fred Harvey: Defining Hospitality in the American West By Donna K. Keesling Fred Harvey, a nineteenth century entrepreneur in the hospitality industry is credited with standardizing food service along the [...]
USS Constitution Proves Its Mettle By John Allison It took Naval Constructor George Claghorn and his crew of shipwrights three tries to launch the USS Constitution. On a cold October [...]
Commanding USS Constitution By Donna K. Keesling USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat and is the oldest sailing vessel worldwide that can still sail under her own [...]
Friendship 7: NASA’s First Manned Orbital Spaceflight By Donna K. Keesling Sixty years ago, on February 20, 1962, an Atlas 6 rocket was launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station [...]
Towns of the Swift River Valley – Lost to the Quabbin Reservoir By Donna K. Keesling Four towns – Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott – were incorporated in the Swift [...]
2021 Highlights and Accomplishments 2021 was an exciting year and included the launch of our first all-day online History Camp America; 50 online, free History Camp Discussions with historians [...]
Sparrows Point: From Steelmaking to Distribution Center Hub By Donna K. Keesling In the mid to late 1800s, the railroad industry was laying new tracks and spurring industrial growth in [...]
Operation Torch: Striking Back in North Africa By Donna K. Keesling “You have embarked for distant places where the war is being fought.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote these words [...]
The Gettysburg Address Still Resonates Today By John Allison Why should we care about the Gettysburg Address? Lincoln wasn’t the keynote speaker at the dedication of the National Cemetery on [...]
Still Searching for the “Lost Colony” By Donna K. Keesling “CRO” and “CROATOAN,” carved into a tree and a post were the only clues that Englishman John White found when [...]
The Battle of Gettysburg – Crucial Turning Point By Donna K. Keesling The town of Gettysburg, in southcentral Pennsylvania, was laid out with two hundred and ten lots by James [...]
Celebrating the Smithsonian Institution’s 175th Anniversary By Donna K. Keesling On August 10, 2021, the Smithsonian Institution celebrated its 175th anniversary. You probably know the Smithsonian by its many artifacts [...]
America’s First Fourth of July By J. L. Bell, boston1775.net As the latest The Pursuit of History Historical Moments mailing quoted, John Adams praised the Continental Congress’s vote for independence [...]
A Trip Down History Lane: Reading My Way Through the Pandemic By Dr. Michael Shire The innocent question asked by grandchildren to their grandparents, ‘What did you do during the [...]
Katharine Gibbs: Pioneering American Business Executive By Rose Doherty Women will be in public life from now on. However, this societal change did not happen quickly and was the result [...]
National Parks Posters from the WPA Era By Joanna Wendel In honor of The Pursuit of History’s limited edition screenprint of Fort Ticonderoga, designed in the iconic style of [...]
The Lafayette Trail Traces a Noteworthy Path By Joanna Wendel The Marquis de Lafayette played a major role in the American Revolution and helped build an enduring friendship between France [...]
Nellie Tayloe Ross: The First Female Governor By Joanna Wendel January 2021 will be remembered as the inauguration of Kamala Harris, the United States’ first female vice president. But this [...]
Honoring a Remarkable Life: The William B. Gould Memorial Project By Joanna Wendel Over the summer, as he watched statues fall around the country, Brian Keaney began to think about [...]