Archive: July, 2014
July marks the 200th anniversary of the first appearance of Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Waverley. Scott had already found great success with his poetry, such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) and Marmion (1808), but Waverley was a runaway bestseller. It was first published in an edition of 1000 copies, which sold out …
Read More →
L. Tom Perry Special Collections has recently digitized the Newel Kimball Whitney papers (Vault MSS 76). This collection is a treasure trove of original documents related to the earliest years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whitney was a personal friend of Joseph Smith, the first bishop of Ohio (1831), and second Presiding …
Read More →
In July 1846, President James K. Polk issued an order for the Mormon Saints to round up 500 men to volunteer to enlist in the U. S. Army to assist in the Mexican American War. This group became known as the Mormon Battalion. Little did the Saints know that this was all part of a …
Read More →
At this time of year the minds and hearts of many Utahans and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the world often drift toward the pioneers of the Church and the stories of their toil and sacrifice to trek to the Great Basin and establish a place of refuge where …
Read More →
The University Archives is pleased to announce the availability of the Reed M. Izatt papers (UA 5654). Reed McNeil Izatt was born in Logan, Utah on October 10, 1926. He was a chemistry professor at Brigham Young University from 1956 to 1993. He received his Bachelor of Sciences at Utah State University in 1951, his …
Read More →
Special Collections’ newest acquisition for our History of Printing collection is a copy of M. T. Cicero’s Cato Major, printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1744. The text was translated by James Logan, a prominent colonial statesman and book collector. Logan served as mayor of Philadelphia and as Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and …
Read More →
Today is the final day for Special Collections’ exhibit Victorian Illustrators from Sketch to Print. If you can’t stop by in person before it closes, a web version of the exhibit is archived at http://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/victorianillustrators/. Check back in late August for the unveiling of our next exhibit for the 2014-2015 academic year!
The United States Progressive Era is a fascinating time to study, especially for those interested in American women’s history. This period, which spanned from about 1890 to 1920, was an important time of change for the United States. Under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, the country went through a lot of …
Read More →
Each year the descendants of former Brigham Young University president George H. Brimhall honor the founders of the university by sponsoring the Brimhall Essay Contest. Held in conjunction with the university’s Homecoming celebrations, the contest is designed to introduce students to the individuals who have helped to shape Brigham Young University’s unique institutional character. This …
Read More →