Washington has been a military city since its founding, from the Civil War forts that ringed the capital to the Pentagon across the river. These posts cover the soldiers, bases, battles, and defense history that have shaped the DC area over more than two centuries.
Know the history of Dulles Airport outside Washington? It was born in the 1960s as the first airport specifically built for jet aircraft.
The most popular man in America, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, arrived with the New York Yankees in May of 1924 to play two games against the Washington Senators. Several days earlier, he had enlisted with the New York National Guard in a well-publicized event in Times Square – a large National Guard recruitment push.
Thanks Shorpy for these great Babe Ruth photos.
Explore the Wall Street Crash of 1929 through a historical photo of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, taken four months after their nuptials. Learn about their epic transatlantic flight, their historic arrival at Bolling Field, and the impact of the crash.
For the next “This Day in History” post, I came across this list of White House visitors for January 24th, 1912. A long list of prominent individuals visited President Taft that day, from the Italian Ambassador, to the Secretary of War and many Members of Congress.
This is the early 20th century version of open government and transparency and it’s really interesting to see this printed in the newspaper.
Here’s a video I came across on YouTube of the old president and recently inaugurated one attending the burial ceremony of the Unknown Soldier. President Wilson was instrumental in honoring those “unknown but to God” by having them interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
The ceremony made all the national and local evening papers that day. Below is Philadelphia’s Evening Public Ledger (for only 2 cents) from November 11th, 1921.
Below is the photo on the front page of the paper (sorry for the slow download – it’s slightly higher resolution). The photo was taken by the Public Ledger’s photographer as it was being removed from the Capitol, getting ready for the slow march to Arlington National Cemetery.
Here’s something I found on the Woodrow Wilson House website (if you haven’t visited, you should):
On his last official day in office, March 4, 1921, Woodrow Wilson also set into motion another of our Veterans Day traditions, the honoring of those fallen in battle “unknown but to God.” As Wilson arrived at the Capitol for the inauguration of his successor, Warren G. Harding, he went to the President’s Room in the Senate and signed the legislation that designated the interment of the remains of an Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery. Later that day, Wilson moved to his new home at 2340 S Street in Washington, which is now the Woodrow Wilson House. On November 11, 1921, former President Wilson attended the ceremonies in the Rotunda of the Capitol for the Unknown Soldier and later that day he returned to his home to greet the crowd that had gathered there.
Little known fact: Woodrow Wilson is the only president buried in Washington, D.C. He is buried in Washington National Cathedral.
UPDATE: I was just made aware of the Woodrow Wilson House blog. You should check it out and check out the house.
The Baltimore Sun on January 6th, 1887 has a notice of the Waller-Stuart wedding, which happened the day prior in Staunton, VA. This of course is notable because Miss Virginia Pelham Stuart was the daughter of the J.E.B. Stuart. We all know him as the guy that participated in the capture of John Brown and his raiders in Harpers Ferry, a graduate of West Point and the famous Confederate general, who partially contributed to their defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg.
