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Howard University

Frederick Douglass in 1881

Frederick Douglass Attends First Union Alumni Association of Howard University and Toasts “Self-Made Men”

This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here. Frederick Douglass was a self-made man about town during his years in Washington. He was a frequent guest of the White House through the various Presidential administrations after the Civil War,...
Daniel H. Riggs, Howard University Medicine, in the South Yard of the Smithsonian Institution Building, stands next to his carriage. Picture shows the East Wing after Adolph Cluss' 1884 renovation. Against the building are sheds, used by the Department of Living Animals, 1887-1890 (Smithsonian Archives)

Doctor and His Carriage at the Smithsonian

Here’s a photograph from 1890 which shows Dr. Daniel H. Riggs of Howard University posing next to his carriage near the Smithsonian. In 1893, the doctor was the defendant in a malpractice lawsuit. The Post reported on the suit on...
Robinson and King were receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Robinson had just retired from professional baseball earlier in the year. The photograph was probably taken by either Robert or George Scurlock (Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History)

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jackie Robinson Together at Howard University

I think you’ll agree that this is some serious history, frozen in time. Both former baseball star Jackie Robinson and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. were among a group of prominent individuals receiving honorary degrees from Howard University...
Sanborn Firemap of Columbia Heights in 1903 (LIbrary of Congress)

Old Columbia Heights: Where the Streets Have New Names

How did Columbia Heights get its street names? This history goes back to the early 1900s when street names came into alignment with the rest of the District.
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