Tagged Philadelphia History
Thinking Like a Historian!
The Museum of the American Revolution presents Thinking Like a Historian! Historians use objects, documents, and contextual knowledge to build an understanding of the past. Together with museum staff, students will be invited to do the…
Life at Sea!
The Museum of the American Revolution presentsLife at Sea! Climb aboard as we learn about life on a privateer ship, including what a sailor might have eaten, what his job might have been, and how he would have passed the time.…
Exhibition: The Voices of Sisterly Affection
Philadelphia's motto was officially expanded to "The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection" by the efforts of the godmother of Black Music Month, Dyana Williams. To continue amplifying the female voice in…
Special Collections Showcase: Map Collection
Explore and learn about objects from the Map Collection in a curated talk offerered by Special Collections staff. This drop in event will be held in the Map Collection at the Parkway Central Library from 11:00am to 11:30am. This…
The Wissahickon Valley: a Soup to Nuts History
Join Alex Bartlett from the Chestnut Hill Conservancy and dig into the Wissahickon from the Conservancy’s Archives. Learn a bit more about the Lenni Lenape in our area; the milling industry in the Wissahickon Valley; hotels and…
Special Collections Showcase: Map Collection
Explore and learn about objects from the Map Collection in a curated talk offerered by Special Collections staff. This drop in event will be held in the Map Collection at the Parkway Central Library from 11:00am to 11:30am. This…
Proud to be a Philadelphian
A Philadelphian claps back at the outsiders who LOVE to HATE his city. A comedic and historical view of Philly Firsts and why we are so proud! An 80 minute program for Adults.
From Kelpius to the Rod of Iron: Cults and New Religious Movements in Pennsylvania
The state of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia are home to a diverse array of churches and religious organizations. This program will outline the history of some of the most famous religious monuments of our region. We will…
"Black Histories of Philadelphia" Exhibition
Black Histories of Philadelphia looks at some of the stories of people and places that make up Philadelphia’s countless histories. Some stories are kept, some fade over time, and others are misrepresented or silenced. The…
"Black Histories of Philadelphia" Exhibition
Black Histories of Philadelphia looks at some of the stories of people and places that make up Philadelphia’s countless histories. Some stories are kept, some fade over time, and others are misrepresented or silenced. The…
"Black Histories of Philadelphia" Exhibition
Black Histories of Philadelphia looks at some of the stories of people and places that make up Philadelphia’s countless histories. Some stories are kept, some fade over time, and others are misrepresented or silenced. The…
One Story Over Broad: An Oral History Project
You are invited to come and share your stories of community, challenges, and changes in the neighborhood around Broad, Germantown and Erie. We will be recording April 2, 9 & 16, from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m, or by appointment.
printPHILLY! 2025 Lecture: The Print Center and the Continuous Contemporary
Join Lauren Rosenblum, The Print Center's Jensen Bryan Curator, for a lecture about the history of The Print Center on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 11 AM. Since its founding in 1915, Philadelphia stalwart The Print Center…
The Schuylkill Navigation Canal System
The Schuylkill Navigation is the 108 mile long chain of dams and canals that brought literally millions of tons of anthracite coal down from Schuylkill County to tidewater at Philadelphia. Started in 1815-1825, it ended early in the…
One Story Over Broad: An Oral History Project
You are invited to come and share your stories of community, challenges, and changes in the neighborhood around Broad, Germantown and Erie. We will be recording April 2, 9 & 16, from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m, or by appointment.
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 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…