The Salahis ain’t got nuthin’ on Doyle Allen Hicks of Waynesville, North Carolina. The former wanted to socialize with the president. The latter wanted to warn the president of a communist takeover. This is a colorful article from the Washington Post, published on September 27th, 1963. Washington, Sept. 26–White House policemen and Secret Service agents subdued a screaming man almost ... Read More »
Check out this photograph from January 2nd, 1922. This is the line of people waiting to get into the White House. The line stretches all the way up 17th St., across Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the State, War and Navy Building and then down the White House driveway. This has to be well over a thousand people. Related articles Governor ... Read More »
This is classic. We found an article in the Washington Post from May 7th, 1967, detailing the klutzy maneuvers of then-presidential candidate, George Romney (and of course, father of current presidential candidate Mitt Romney). When Governor George Romney of Michigan was on the premises at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue recently, he accidentally smashed the glass chimney on an 18th century lamp, ... Read More »
Here’s a good find from the National Archives. It’s a very well dressed couple riding an odd-looking bicycle (or quad-cycle), just south of the White House. Related articles Email From a GoDCer: Alexander Graham Bell’s Georgetown Home (ghostsofdc.org) Georgetown Canal Boatmen Brawl; Brutal Fight Ends in Murder (ghostsofdc.org) From a GoDCer: A Family Connection to a Tragic Suicide (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »
Here’s a crazy one for you. This is an article in the Washington Post from January 29th, 1897. A peculiar accident happened at the state reception at the White House last night, which will no doubt be the topic for conversation in society circles for some days. The horse of M. Jules Boeufve, Chancellor of the French Embassy, who was ... Read More »
President Taft was a huge advocate for automobiles. So much so, that he the first set of White House limousines, including one that was steam driven. He was given a budget of $12,000 to invest in both automobiles as well as a building to house the new vehicles. The old White House stables had to go. Here’s an article from ... Read More »
In January 1860, the Tokugawa shogunate sent a delegation to the United States with the primary objective of ratifying the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (aka, the Harris Treaty). Commodore Matthew Perry (not Chandler) had opened Japan (forcefully) in 1854 and this was the first Japanese diplomatic mission sent to the United States. This historic event is particularly interesting to me because, while ... Read More »
If you know who POTUS 25 is off the top of your head, congratulations. You are an über history geek. Enjoy the Libary of Congress photos below. Read More »
You find one, you find them all. Ok, admittedly the last few posts have been focused on little people, so this will be the last one for a while. Clarence Chesterfield Howerton, popularly known as “Major Mite,” visited the White House in December 1922 at the age of nine. Sadly, there was not detailed or even brief report of the ... Read More »
Teddy Roosevelt moved into the White House and made some changes that rocked the boat. The Executive Mansion was getting pretty cramped with the expanding needs of the president’s staff. Below is an article from the Washington Times on November 20th, 1902 detailing the renovations being done at the time. The “new” White House is not going to please those ... Read More »
You may not know this, but there was a very public assassination attempt on a President very near the White House and it wasn’t that long ago. President Harry Truman was in the middle of his second term and his home was having under major renovations, forcing him to live in Blair House for several years. It also might shock ... Read More »
This is an amazing old photograph of the White House taken by John Plumbe, Jr. in 1846. The 11th President of the United States , James K. Polk, was the building’s occupant, having succeeded President John Tyler just the year prior. It’s a great one to stare at and study. It appears to be taken some time during the winter, ... Read More »
This post went up at exactly 8 a.m. this morning local time, which is twelve noon Greenwich Mean Time. Exactly 100 years ago at this very moment, on April 12th, 1912, the Titanic set off from Southampton, England, on her tragic maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. On the luxury liner was prominent Washington resident and presidential aide, Major Archibald Butt. Archibald ... Read More »
This is an excellent silent film from 1929. It begins with outgoing president Calvin Coolidge and Hoover entering a vehicle and being taken to the Capitol Building down Pennsylvania Avenue. The members of the Supreme Court are seen — including former president and then Chief Justice William Howard Taft — on the inauguration platform. Both Coolidge and Hoover are present ... Read More »
This is a guest post by Rick. The White House website currently carries this message: On Monday April 9, 2012, the First Family will host the 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year’s theme is “Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move” and more than 35,000 people will be joining us on the South Lawn for games, stories, and, of ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington