Today we spotlight the historic launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, with two items from the National Archives and Record Administration’s (NARA) motion picture holdings of Record Group 255, Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Series (NASA). Washington Headquarters - Apollo 11 Pool Footage: Part 1 of 2 (National Archives Identifier: … Continue reading Spotlight: Apollo 11 Launch Footage-July 16, 1969
Category: Films
HemisFair ’68, When The World’s Fair Came to Texas
Today’s post was written by Caitlin Hucik and James Konicek. Still taken from US The first World Exposition sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions was named the Great Exhibition and held in 1851 London, England. Since then, over 30 sanctioned expos have been held every 5 to 10 years. In 1968, San Antonio hosted … Continue reading HemisFair ’68, When The World’s Fair Came to Texas
National Nurses Day and World Red Cross Day with the Home Nursing Series
Today's post was written by Rachael Brittain and Ken Myers. In celebration of National Nurses Day and World Red Cross Day, the National Archives would like to commemorate the work and sacrifices nurses and Red Cross staff make to contribute to our nation’s health and safety. We invite you to celebrate their contributions with the … Continue reading National Nurses Day and World Red Cross Day with the Home Nursing Series
Christine Jorgensen: America’s First Transgender Celebrity
Clip from Universal Newsreel Volume 26, Release 440 (Local ID: UN-UN-26-440-1-4) Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Language. The scenes shown in this 1953 Universal Newsreel footage are some of the first moments pioneering transgender woman Christine Jorgensen would spend in the … Continue reading Christine Jorgensen: America’s First Transgender Celebrity
Wings for This Man: Celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen
Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Language. The First Motion Picture Unit When America entered the war in Europe in 1941, the country's greatest challenge was finding enough manpower to wage a two-front war. The country needed to quickly increase the number … Continue reading Wings for This Man: Celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen
Spotlight: Killers of the Flower Moon and the Ford Film Collection
At first glance, Martin Scorsese, the Osage Nation, and Henry Ford have nothing in common. Scorsese is an award-winning American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. The Osage Nation is a thriving American Indian tribe whose ancestral land includes much of Oklahoma, and Ford is an industrialist who changed the manufacturing landscape. But despite assumptions, … Continue reading Spotlight: Killers of the Flower Moon and the Ford Film Collection
Drawing Benefits: The USIA’s Space Race Message and the Animators Who Brought It to Life
It’s time for us to return to one of our favorite topics—Cartoons! And not just any cartoons, but the animation produced for the United States Information Agency (USIA). You may already have joined us for our exploration of anti-Communist Mexican cartoons, animation and animatics by the “Walt Disney” of Thailand, or this psychedelic symbolic history … Continue reading Drawing Benefits: The USIA’s Space Race Message and the Animators Who Brought It to Life
Dong Kingman: Watercolor Master
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and in honor of this, we will be highlighting records related to the Chinse American watercolor artist, Dong Kingman. The Moving Image and Sound Branch has two beautiful color films that capture the work of Kingman and show the process of how he painted his masterpieces. … Continue reading Dong Kingman: Watercolor Master
Spotlight: The Discovery of King Tutankhamun
February 16, 2023 is the 100th anniversary of the opening of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber. The tomb was discovered in November 1922 by English archaeologist Howard Carter and his team, who had been searching for it for five years. The tomb, located in Thebes, Egypt, was found virtually intact after 3,000 years. On February 16, … Continue reading Spotlight: The Discovery of King Tutankhamun
The Art of War
Still from US ARMY ARTISTS, 111-LC-55581 ABOUT THE FILM Working in the Special Media Division at the National Archives, we are used to seeing images of war captured by moving images and still photos. However, the US military also uses more traditional forms of artwork to document their operations and daily lives. All military branches … Continue reading The Art of War