Tagged Philadelphia History
Author Talk: Charles Wiedenmann
Author Charles Wiedenmann will present his book, Lawndale: Stories from my Youth: Growing Up in Northeast Philadelphia in the 60s and 70s. The lecture format will allow for an in-depth discussion about the inspiration, creative process,…
City Planning Club - Philadelphia Bio Tech Campus
Join our monthly discussion group! We are continuing a discussion series centered on topics related to Philadelphia history, connecting local history with city planning and development. This month, participate in a thoughtful, guided…
Reels of Time: Literature’s Microfilm Collection
Visit the Literature Department's new exhibition to learn more about our microfilm collection! Microfilm preserves fragile documents such as rare books, newspapers and other periodicals by using micro-photography to reduce an…
The Phillypino Oral History Project: Exhibition Opening
The Phillypino Oral History Project is an intergenerational, community-based oral history and photography project capturing the rich narratives of Filipino immigrants who arrived in Philadelphia, particularly in the 1980’s, after…
Halloween Trivia Night
Do you have an unmatched knowledge of all things Halloween? Are you an expert on horror movies? Are you looking for a way to celebrate the spooky season that isn't in a bar? Come play trivia at the library! Questions will cover a…
Artist talk and book launch: Sophie C. White
Join us for an artist talk with Philadelphia-based painter Sophie C. White with a look at a new book of her artwork and a selection of library materials on art and ideas that she looks to for inspiration Born 1984 in New York, NY,…
City Planning Club - Philadelphia Rail Park
Join our monthly discussion group! We are continuing a discussion series centered on topics related to Philadelphia history, connecting local history with city planning and development. This month, participate in a thoughtful, guided…
Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970 (Formerly Sanborn Maps Geo Edition)
Explore America’s building history through over 660,000 black-and-white, large-scale maps, which chart the growth of more than 12,000 towns and cities. Read this blog post to learn more.
Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)
Full access to the oldest continuously published daily Black newspaper in the United States.
Philadelphia Press Index
The Philadelphia Press (1857-1920) was one of Philadelphia's oldest major newpapers. This index is an electronic version of a paper index kept by Free Library staff from 1898 through 1912. It directs you to citations for specific…
Philadelphia Inquirer Digital Archive 1860-2001
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
Philadelphia Inquirer
May 2023: TEMPORARY SERVICE INTERRUPTION. The Philadelphia Inquirer can be accessed on our "PressReader including the Economist" database during this time.
Philadelphia Evening Telegraph
Philadelphia Evening Telegraph was a daily afternoon newspaper started on January 4, 1864. Search, browse, and read it online here.
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News can also be accessed on our "PressReader including the Economist" database.
Evening Public Ledger
Evening Public Ledger was one of the most widely read dailies in Philadelphia between 1914 and 1942. Read, search, and browse the full text of the paper here.
Bakari Sellers | The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now
In 2006, Bakari Sellers defeated a twenty-six-year incumbent State Representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. The state’s 2014…
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter | The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are
In conversation with Airea D. Matthews The winner of three Grammy Awards and three NAACP Image Awards, Tariq Trotter , aka Black Thought , is the MC and co-founder of The Roots. The Philly-based hip-hop group has produced 11 albums…
Kimberlé Crenshaw | #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence
In conversation with Dorothy Roberts One of the country’s foremost authorities in civil rights, Black feminist legal theory, race, and the law, Kimberlé Crenshaw is a law professor at UCLA and Columbia Law School, where in 1996 she…
Nikhil Goyal | Live to See the Day: Coming of Age in American Poverty
In conversation with author and Pennsylvania State Senator, Nikil Saval In Live to See the Day , Nikhil Goyal offers a searing portrait of three Puerto Rican children struggling to survive in Philadelphia’s impoverished Kensington…
Brett H. Mandel | Philadelphia, Corrupt and Consenting: A City’s Struggle against an Epithet
In conversation with Ernest Owens A consultant and writer in the fields of civic activism and government reform, Brett H. Mandel served as director of Philadelphia’s Financial & Policy Analysis Unit in the city controller’s office,…
Neil King Jr. | American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal
In conversation with Signe Wilkinson A Wall Street Journal correspondent for two decades, Neil King Jr. reported from more than 50 countries, served as the newspaper’s chief diplomatic correspondent, national political reporter, and…
Jennifer Senior | On Grief: Love, Loss, Memory
In conversation with Mike Sielski A staff writer at The Atlantic, Jennifer Senior won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for “Twenty Years Gone,” an account of a family still reeling from the loss of a loved one on 9/11. Her…
Dan Berger | Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power through One Family's Journey
In conversation with Michael Simmons and Robert Saleem Holbrook Dan Berger is the author of the James A. Rawley Prize winning Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era , an “illuminating” ( The Nation )…
Ilyon Woo | Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom
In conversation with Imani Perry Ilyon Woo is the author of The Great Divorce , the “lively, well-written, and engrossing tale” ( The New York Times Book Review ) of a young mother’s five-year fight against her husband, the Shakers…
Tyler Kepner | The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series
The national baseball writer for The New York Times since 2010, Tyler Kepner began his career as a teenager, interviewing players for a homemade magazine that garnered him national attention. His national bestseller K: A History of…
Kerri K. Greenidge | The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family
In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Historian Kerri K. Greenidge is the author of Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter , a portrait of the post-Reconstruction civil…
George Lakey | Dancing With History: A Life for Peace and Justice
In conversation with Varshini Prakash Active in grassroot campaigns for social change for more than seven decades, sociologist and Quaker organizer George Lakey was first arrested at a civil rights demonstration in 1963 and most…
Andrew K. Diemer | Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad
Andrew K. Diemer is the author of The Politics of Black Citizenship: Free African Americans in the Mid-Atlantic Borderland, 1817–1863 , an examination of the ways in which free Black Philadelphians and Baltimoreans fought to defend…
Camika Royal | Not Paved For Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia
In conversation with Edwin Mayorga and Sharif El-Mekki For 20 years Camika Royal was a middle and high school teacher and a teaching coach for her fellow educators in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and her hometown of Philadelphia.…
Jennifer Lin | Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Historic Journey to China
In conversation with Nydia Han, Consumer Investigative Reporter and co-anchor of 6ABC Action News Sunday mornings A reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer for 31 years, Jennifer Lin worked as an international correspondent in China, a…
Erika M. Kitzmiller | The Roots of Educational Inequality: Philadelphia's Germantown High School, 1907–2014
Education historian Erika M. Kitzmiller has conducted research in the city of Philadelphia, its public schools, and the Free Library for nearly two decades. The result of her investigation is The Roots of Educational Inequality , a…
Mike Sielski | The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality
In conversation with Michael Days A sports columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer since 2013, Mike Sielski is the author of Fading Echoes , the true story of two Pennsylvania high school football rivals who later found brotherhood while…
Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague | The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It
In conversation with Tracey Matisak , award-winning journalist and broadcaster Renowned for his “signature blend of deep reportage and character-driven storytelling ( The New York Times Book Review ),” Mark Bowden is a national…
Woody Holton | Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution
In conversation with Adam McNeil, host of the New Books in African American Studies podcast The McCausland Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, Woody Holton teaches early U.S. history, specializing in economics,…
Sheryll Cashin | White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality
In conversation with Richard Rothstein Sheryll Cashin’s NAACP Image Award–nominated books on racism and inequality include The Failures of Integration , The Agitator’s Daughter , and Place, Not Race . The Carmack Waterhouse Professor…
Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
The oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the country takes place right here in Philadelphia!
National Parks Center – Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the site of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army. The park commemorates the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation and honors the ability of citizens to pull together and…
National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center is the first and only institution in America established by Congress to “disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and…