The Bentley Historical Library will be closed for the day on July 4 & 5, 2024.
Use the U-M Library Search to explore the Bentley's collections.
Hours:
Monday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
1150 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113 U.S.A.
734-764-3482
An early U-M Olympian! 🥇 Did you know that Olympic gold medals weren’t awarded until several years after the modern Olympics actually started?
It’s true! 🌿 Earlier winners were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch, and a special diploma, instead of gold, at the first modern Olympic games, in 1896.
So, when U-M alum Charles Dvorak won gold in pole vaulting during the 1904 Olympics, his success placed him among the very first group of athletes to earn Olympic gold!
It was only later that the earliest winners were retroactively placed according to the “three medal system” by the International Olympic Committee.
Dvorak certainly wasn’t the first, or the last, University of Michigan alum to win first place at the Olympics, however.
U-M alumni won first place at the Olympics 81 times between the years 1900 and 2022! ⭐
Click through to see Olympian Charles Dvorak pole vaulting, both at U-M, and later at the Olympics in 1904, reaching heights of over 11 feet in the air!
(Don`t try this at home!)
📸: Photos from the Athletics Department records and the Wilfred B. Shaw papers
#GoBlue #ArchivesGoForGold #UMich #FlashbackFriday #Olympics #ArchivesHashtagParty
An early U-M Olympian! 🥇 Did you know that Olympic gold medals weren’t awarded until several years after the modern Olympics actually started?
It’s true! 🌿 Earlier winners were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch, and a special diploma, instead of gold, at the first modern Olympic games, in 1896.
So, when U-M alum Charles Dvorak won gold in pole vaulting during the 1904 Olympics, his success placed him among the very first group of athletes to earn Olympic gold!
It was only later that the earliest winners were retroactively placed according to the “three medal system” by the International Olympic Committee.
Dvorak certainly wasn’t the first, or the last, University of Michigan alum to win first place at the Olympics, however.
U-M alumni won first place at the Olympics 81 times between the years 1900 and 2022! ⭐
Click through to see Olympian Charles Dvorak pole vaulting, both at U-M, and later at the Olympics in 1904, reaching heights of over 11 feet in the air!
(Don`t try this at home!)
📸: Photos from the Athletics Department records and the Wilfred B. Shaw papers
#GoBlue #ArchivesGoForGold #UMich #FlashbackFriday #Olympics #ArchivesHashtagParty
...
Happy Fourth of July from 1926! 🎉
People have celebrated Independence Day in all kinds of ways across Michigan history!
This family in Sault Ste. Marie celebrated by visiting a local park, but historic Michigan celebrations have also included speeches, fireworks, bell-ringing, and even contests where guests competed to climb a greased pole.
Here are four fun facts about Fourth of July celebrations across Michigan’s history:
🎈 In 1881, a hot air balloon was the highlight of a Fourth of July celebration in Jackson—specifically, a “Balloon Ascension by Miss Ella Mills, the Daring Lady Aeronaut,” according to a local newspaper!
🚲 In 1882, a Tecumseh celebration included a “bicycle race against horses!”
💃 “Ball games, swimming races, and dancing day and night” were the main events at Pleasant Lake, Michigan, in 1899, with encouragement for guests to “dance once or 20 times, as you like.”
🎵 100 years ago, when the 4th of July was celebrated during Ann Arbor’s Centennial year, the city held a baseball game, horse race, music, and an “old fashioned family picnic!”
You can find this photograph in the Harlow Whittemore collection, and you can find more details about 4th of July’s celebrations throughout Michigan history with resources such as the Michigan Historical Newspapers database, accessible in the Reading Room, and the Michigan Daily Digital Archives.
However you’re celebrating, we hope you have a wonderful Independence Day!
#TBT #4thOfJuly #IndependenceDay #MichiganHistory #umicharts
Happy Fourth of July from 1926! 🎉
People have celebrated Independence Day in all kinds of ways across Michigan history!
This family in Sault Ste. Marie celebrated by visiting a local park, but historic Michigan celebrations have also included speeches, fireworks, bell-ringing, and even contests where guests competed to climb a greased pole.
Here are four fun facts about Fourth of July celebrations across Michigan’s history:
🎈 In 1881, a hot air balloon was the highlight of a Fourth of July celebration in Jackson—specifically, a “Balloon Ascension by Miss Ella Mills, the Daring Lady Aeronaut,” according to a local newspaper!
🚲 In 1882, a Tecumseh celebration included a “bicycle race against horses!”
💃 “Ball games, swimming races, and dancing day and night” were the main events at Pleasant Lake, Michigan, in 1899, with encouragement for guests to “dance once or 20 times, as you like.”
🎵 100 years ago, when the 4th of July was celebrated during Ann Arbor’s Centennial year, the city held a baseball game, horse race, music, and an “old fashioned family picnic!”
You can find this photograph in the Harlow Whittemore collection, and you can find more details about 4th of July’s celebrations throughout Michigan history with resources such as the Michigan Historical Newspapers database, accessible in the Reading Room, and the Michigan Daily Digital Archives.
However you’re celebrating, we hope you have a wonderful Independence Day!
#TBT #4thOfJuly #IndependenceDay #MichiganHistory #umicharts
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✨Flashback fun!✨ We`re delighted to see that so many of you stopped by this year`s Ann Arbor Summer Festival to recreate photos from the Bentley`s archives!
People struck fun poses, imitating their favorite historic photos, and some amazing pictures were snapped! 💃
Afterwards, visitors got to take a personal piece of history home with them; a polaroid picture of their very own photo re-creation, to treasure and keep. ❤️
Thank you so much to everyone who joined in the fun, for bringing these historic photos to life!
And special thanks to the student workers of the historic Detroit Observatory, who made this event happen! 📸✨
Fun fact: The Detroit Observatory is a division of the Bentley Historical Library!
(We’re always proud of that fact, but never more so than when we see the great ideas the Observatory students come up with!)
#FlashbackFriday #A2SF #AnnArbor #OldPhotos #ThenAndNow #PhotoReCreation #MichiganHistory #Polaroids #BringingHistoryToLife #DetroitObservatory
✨Flashback fun!✨ We`re delighted to see that so many of you stopped by this year`s Ann Arbor Summer Festival to recreate photos from the Bentley`s archives!
People struck fun poses, imitating their favorite historic photos, and some amazing pictures were snapped! 💃
Afterwards, visitors got to take a personal piece of history home with them; a polaroid picture of their very own photo re-creation, to treasure and keep. ❤️
Thank you so much to everyone who joined in the fun, for bringing these historic photos to life!
And special thanks to the student workers of the historic Detroit Observatory, who made this event happen! 📸✨
Fun fact: The Detroit Observatory is a division of the Bentley Historical Library!
(We’re always proud of that fact, but never more so than when we see the great ideas the Observatory students come up with!)
#FlashbackFriday #A2SF #AnnArbor #OldPhotos #ThenAndNow #PhotoReCreation #MichiganHistory #Polaroids #BringingHistoryToLife #DetroitObservatory
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Happy 200th Birthday to our neighboring city of Dexter, Michigan! 🥳🎉
Today, Dexter kicks off its Bicentennial celebrations, on the first day of summer! ☀️
Anyone with an interest in Dexter history can find materials like the Sam Sturgis Photograph Collection, including historic Dexter photos like these, in the Bentley’s archives.
Happy first day of summer, and congratulations to the city of Dexter as they celebrate 200 years of history!
📸: Sam Sturgis Photograph Collection
1: Dexter’s Main Street, ca. 1870s
2: Dexter, Michigan, ca. 1890-1895
3: Gordon Hall, home of Samuel Dexter, ca. 1890-1900
#Dexter #TBT #MichiganHistory #Bicentennial #DexterMichigan #FirstDayOfSummer #Celebrating200Years
Happy 200th Birthday to our neighboring city of Dexter, Michigan! 🥳🎉
Today, Dexter kicks off its Bicentennial celebrations, on the first day of summer! ☀️
Anyone with an interest in Dexter history can find materials like the Sam Sturgis Photograph Collection, including historic Dexter photos like these, in the Bentley’s archives.
Happy first day of summer, and congratulations to the city of Dexter as they celebrate 200 years of history!
📸: Sam Sturgis Photograph Collection
1: Dexter’s Main Street, ca. 1870s
2: Dexter, Michigan, ca. 1890-1895
3: Gordon Hall, home of Samuel Dexter, ca. 1890-1900
#Dexter #TBT #MichiganHistory #Bicentennial #DexterMichigan #FirstDayOfSummer #Celebrating200Years
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Hours:
Monday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
1150 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113 U.S.A.
734-764-3482