Explore: Philadelphia History

Tagged Philadelphia History

Walk For Your Health

May is National Physical Fitness and Sport Month! Join us for a walk from the library to Stenton Museum. Starting at the library at 10:00 a.m., we will walk along with educators from Einstein/Jefferson . This will be…

Fly Eagles Fly! A Photo Display of Jalen Hurts

Mr. Riddick, of the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, presents us with his amazing up close and personal pictures of MVP candidate Jalen Hurts. Participants will get a free 4" by 6" picture of Mr. Hurts!! Fly Eagles…

Dan Berger | Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power through One Family's Journey

REGISTER In conversation with Michael Simmons 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 )…

Black Politics in West Philadelphia: A History of Activism in the 1960's

Join us as we welcome James Wolfinger to discuss his book “If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress.”

Pepper Pot Women and Black Culinary Entrepreneurship in Philadelphia

Thanks to the entrepreneurship of colonial Black women, pepper pot soup—a thick stew of beef tripe, vegetables, pepper, and other seasonings—became one of the first street foods in America. Join us for a tasting and…

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 Historical Archive (formerly Civil War Archive)

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

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

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Free Library of Philadelphia's Digital Library Collections

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.

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…

Joe Posnanski | The Baseball 100

In conversation with Tyler Kepner “Arguably the best pure long-form sportswriter in the land” ( Chicago Sun-Times ), Joe Posnanski is the bestselling author of six books, including in-depth accounts of golf legends Tom Watson and Jack…

Joshua Cohen | The Netanyahus with Rivka Galchen | Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Joshua Cohen ’s acclaimed novels include Moving Kings , Witz , and Book of Numbers , “a fascinating look at the dark heart of the Web” and “one of the best novels ever written about the Internet” ( Rolling Stone ). One of Granta ’s Best…

Joshua Coombes | Do Something for Nothing: Seeing Beneath the Surface of Homelessness, through the Simple Act of a Haircut

In conversation with Britt James, founder of Philly Unknown In 2015, British hairstylist Joshua Coombes hit the streets of London with a pair of scissors and an extraordinary idea—that giving free haircuts to those who are experiencing…