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Highlights

A Look at the History of the Bicycle in America

Prize-winning historian and author David Herlihy, who literally wrote the book on the history of the bicycle in America, will enterain visitors at 12:15 pm on Tuesday, April 16, with a talk on the topic at the Wisconsin Historical Museum.... more...
Posted April 8, 2013

Earth Day Collected and Shared

"Tuesday: Atlantic City at 9 am, Boston at 2:15 pm, Madison at 7:15, Milwaukee at 10. Wednesday: Bloomington at 9:30 am, Denver at 2, Berkeley at 8:15 [then] Los Angeles. Back to Washington. A missile gone berserk? No, it's our... more...
Posted April 4, 2013

French-Canadian Genealogical Research

Certified genealogist George Findlen will discuss some of the challenges of conducting research into French-Canadian ancestry during a three-hour, Society-sponsored genealogy workshop on Saturday, April 13, at the Society's headquarters in Madison. The workshop will include guided practice with immediate... more...
Posted April 1, 2013

'Limping through Life' with Jerry Apps

Polio was epidemic in the United States starting in 1916. By the 1930s, quarantines and school closings were common, as isolation was one of the only ways to fight the disease. The Salk vaccine was not available until 1955. In... more...
Posted March 28, 2013

International Harvester Glass Negative Series

The central image files of the International Harvester Company have begun to come online. More than 500 photographs are now available from its so-called Glass Negative Series, the corporation's primary photograph collection. It is a treasure trove of imagery for... more...
Posted March 25, 2013

Society Launches Preview of New Website

We at the Wisconsin Historical Society are excited to announce the preview launch of our new website. This Preview, or "beta" website, gives you a glimpse into our progress. It does not yet include all the content on our current... more...
Posted March 21, 2013

Wisconsin Magazine of History, Spring 2013

An intriguing series of stories ranging from a woman who lived much of her life as a man and the first public kindergarten in the United States to the origins of the Wisconsin Historical Society's world-class genealogical collections graces the... more...
Posted March 18, 2013

Meet Five Wondrous Wisconsin Women

Celebrate Women's History Month with Badger Biographies series author Bob Kann. Bring a brown-bag lunch and join him for a discussion about Five Wondrous Wisconsin Women at 12:15 pm on Tuesday, March 19, at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, 30 North... more...
Posted March 14, 2013

Pendarvis to Host 'Bottoms Up' Book Party

Yehes da! That's the way Pendarvis historic site in Mineral Point — which celebrates the history of Wisconsin's Cornish miners and settlers — will say "cheers" to the state's historic bars and breweries this St. Patrick's Day weekend. The Wisconsin... more...
Posted March 11, 2013

Call for Nominations for 2013 Society Awards

Each year the Wisconsin Historical Society recognizes individuals and organizations for outstanding work in the field of Wisconsin history. In keeping with its mission to help people connect with the past, the Society invites nominations for its slate of 2013... more...
Posted March 7, 2013

'Mary Nohl: A Lifetime in Art'

Milwaukee-born artist Mary Nohl didn't just make art, she lived it. A prolific and fanciful artist who worked in a variety of media, Nohl was both a mysterious figure and an iconic "outsider" artist who made her home on the... more...
Posted March 4, 2013

Remembering Madison's Settlement House

A new online gallery describes Madison's Neighborhood House, the city's only settlement house. Established in 1916, it initially served the predominantly Italian immigrant population of the Greenbush neighborhood a few blocks south of the University of Wisconsin campus. Over several... more...
Posted March 1, 2013

Father Groppi Marched for Change

The civil rights movement was not confined to Southern cities like Selma and Birmingham. As the nation celebrates Black History Month this February, a new book by Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 'Father Groppi: Marching for Civil Rights,' tells the story... more...
Posted February 25, 2013

Cornish Language Courses Offered at Pendarvis

Pendarvis historic site in Mineral Point, a quaint remnant of immigrant Cornish culture in Wisconsin, will host a free lecture and a series of courses on Kernewek Kemmyn, or Common Cornish, a variety of the revived Cornish language. Benjamin Bruch,... more...
Posted February 21, 2013

Civil War Soldiers' Letters Tell the War's History

The U.S. Civil War was a vast conflict fought for grandiose ideals and led by larger-than-life leaders on both sides of the fight that divided our nation. Yet, for all the captivating tales of courage and combat, of strategy and... more...
Posted February 18, 2013

The History of Valentine's Day

Every February 14th, gifts, candy, loved ones exchange cards and flowers, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this Valentine fellow, and why do we celebrate his holiday? Historically, February has long been a month associated with... more...
Posted February 14, 2013

Civil Rights Manuscripts Coming Online Soon

The Wisconsin Historical Society houses one of the nation's largest archives on the civil rights movement. More than 350 manuscript collections document the movement, from the voluminous records of the Congress of Racial Equality in 150 boxes to single-file folders... more...
Posted February 11, 2013

Free Member Event: Hollywood in the Heartland

What do "Casablanca," "West Side Story" and "Citizen Kane" all have in common? They are among more than 15,000 motion pictures (and television shows) included in the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR), a cooperative program of the... more...
Posted February 7, 2013

Society Press Author Featured at Garden Expo

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press will help gardeners enrich their plantings, and their knowledge of Wisconsin history and culture, at the 2013 Garden Expo this weekend at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. A Society Press booth in the Garden... more...
Posted February 4, 2013

Saving an American 'Downton Abbey'

Peter Adams was still a young man when his father moved the family from northern California to Neenah, Wisconsin, and into one of Wisconsin's most famous homes — the Havilah Babcock House, built in 1883 by his grandfather, one of... more...
Posted January 31, 2013

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