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$Today is International Asteroid Day! This day was declared on June 30 by the United Nations to share important information about asteroids and the possible danger they pose to humanity. Asteroids are especially important at the Detroit Observatory. 19th-century astronomers at the D.O. discovered 22 asteroids, and tracked countless others, in their orbits around the sun. Student docents recently used the historic Fitz refractor to capture an image of the first asteroid discovered at the D.O., Eurynome. The first image here shows stars with the asteroid, followed by an image with no asteroid two days later. Have you ever seen an asteroid? Curious to learn more about space? Check out the Detroit Observatory at: https://detroitobservatory.umich.edu/ #DetroitObservatory #AnnArbor #spacehistory #InternationalAsteroidDay #asteroids #astronomy #astronomyhistory #nightsky #skywatcher #space #BentleyHistoricalLibrary$

A modern document? Think again.

This page is actually from our NOW Michigan Conference collection (1969-1996). Sometimes the past is much closer to the present than we think.
This is one of the reasons that knowing history matters. At least one of the chants shown here was actually used during recent protests against the SCOTUS decision striking down Roe V. Wade.

NOW stands for the “National Organization of Women,” and the NOW Michigan Conference collection includes file titles like: Reproductive Rights, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, and Violence Against Women. Interested in getting some historic context? We encourage you to take a look at our collections, and to make an appointment to visit our library to see firsthand how history shapes, and echoes, the present.

#Herstory #SCOTUS #BentleyHistoricalLibrary #Womenshistory #NOWMichigan

It’s World Music Day! Can you guess where U-M student Louis Elbel finished composing “The Victors” march?

If you guessed on a train, you’re correct! Elbel, inspired by an exciting Thanksgiving football win against the University of Chicago, finished arranging the marching music for “The Victors” on a train to Ann Arbor in 1898. John Philip Sousa was famously a fan of this song, and “The Victors” was even reportedly played in World War I by the American band, as U.S. troops passed under the Arch of Triumph in Paris.

Please feel free to arrange a visit to the Bentley Historical Library to see this sheet music, and more, in our wonderful “Sheet music of University of Michigan songs” collection.

#WorldMusicDay #MichiganHistory #BentleyHistoricalLibrary #LouisElbel #HailToTheVictors #MusicHistory #MichiganMusic

Did you know that Sojourner Truth lived in Battle Creek, Michigan? Did you know that she wasn’t always known as “Sojourner Truth?”

“Sojourner Truth” was a name that she chose in freedom. As a traveler, or “Sojourner,” who felt she carried the truth wherever she went, she took this name to replace “Isabella,” which she had been called when she was enslaved.

Sojourner Truth escaped slavery and went on to become a brilliant public speaker advocating for abolition, and for the rights of women––especially Black women, who were often excluded from women’s rights conversations at the time.

Historian Berenice Lowe's collection contains materials relating to Sojourner Truth's life, showing that her speeches brought hope in difficult circumstances. One of the scrapbooks compiled by Sojourner’s assistant, Frances Titus, survives in this collection, and you can see in it some of the writings that Sojourner found important. Want to learn more? The Bentley Historical Library is open to the public; please feel free to make an appointment to visit us, and dive into our materials about to Black history in Michigan.

#SojournerTruth #BentleyHistoricalLibrary #BattleCreek #MichiganHistory #BattleCreekHistory

A historian and an artist teamed up to create a comic book celebrating Michigan’s first-ever Pride celebration. The result is "Come Out! In Detroit: The Story of Christopher Street Detroit ’72," a 28-page, full-color comic that reflects decades of research, including oral histories and papers at the Bentley. The book is being offered free at Pride events all month long. Read more: myumi.ch/QenWr

On Memorial Day, 1930, 41 bodies were reburied with honors in the Polar Bear Memorial at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Michigan. These were men who were sent to the far eastern front, dying in battles after WWI had officially ended and the armistice was signed. Read more about the strange tale of Allied soldiers in Russia, and the incredible determination of veterans to bring the fallen home to Michigan, here: myumi.ch/qAqEM

In 1874, class historian Calvin Thomas asked each of his classmates to fill out a 50-answer questionnaire. Mary Downing Sheldon, pictured here, was among those who responded.

Q: Are you married, engaged, or free for future choice?
A: I live in a free country.
Q: In any of these cases, do you like the situation?
A: Give me liberty or give me death!

The class of 1874 was the first to have women enrolled from the start of the academic year to its completion. Materials from the class of 1874 are open to the public, including class albums and, yes, the answers to all the other surveys.

The University of Michigan College of Engineering in the 1930s was the perfect environment to nurture Claude Shannon's curious mind and inspire discoveries. It was fascinating to find elements of Shannon’s U-M experience in the archives, before he became the "father of information theory."

Dive into the latest issue of Collections magazine to learn more about Shannon at U-M: myumi.ch/gN6wW

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women fought to study the stars just like their male colleagues. The Detroit Observatory was training ground for four unparalleled women astronomers. Read about these groundbreaking women in the latest issue of Collections magazine: myumi.ch/1n4N1

[Pictured here: Hazel Marie Losh]

In 1905, Belle da Costa Greene was hired by the indomitable banker and financier J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library in Manhattan, New York.

Greene’s literary and business savvy helped Morgan create a world-class collection. She was unquestionably brilliant, while also defying the racism of the time by passing as white. The story of her life—and her painful secret—is the subject of a recent bestselling book, The Personal Librarian (Berkley, 2021), co-written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

Greene’s now-famous story also extends to papers at the Bentley Historical Library through her correspondence with the Director of the University of Michigan Library, William Warner Bishop. Read the full story in the latest issue of the Bentley’s own Collections magazine: myumi.ch/pZ23X

[Portrait of Greene by Paul Césear Helleu, circa 1913, Public Domain]

Did you know there is a “Poet Laureate of Detroit”? His name is Dudley Randall, and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young declared him the Poet Laureate of Detroit in 1981. Randall founded and ran Broadside Press, which elevated African American voices and changed the face of literature forever.

Broadside Press had published more than 81 titles by the mid-1960s, nearly all of them celebrating African American poets and their works. By contrast, before Broadside, only 35 poetry books by African Americans were published in the United States from 1945 to 1965.

April is National Poetry Month. Learn more about Randall and his life of words here:

myumi.ch/3kmN6

We invite you to get to know the new Judy & Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory! ⁠
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Visit the observatory’s new website, watch the new video, and keep an eye on the online calendar for all of the events and activities to come. ⁠
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Then, take a tour. Attend a lecture. Make a gift. Discover history. See the stars.⁠
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Explore the Detroit Observatory website:⁠
detroitobservatory.umich.edu⁠
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Watch the new video:⁠
myumi.ch/M9zje⁠
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View the calendar and plan your visit:⁠
myumi.ch/84g3W⁠

$Throwback Thursday is looking a bit different around here! This is a modern photo, but it features a telescope in the Judy & Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory that is more than 165 years old.⁠ ⁠ The observatory was built in 1854, when U-M’s first president, Henry Philip Tappan, wanted to transform Michigan from a small Midwestern liberal arts college into an elite research university. To accomplish this, Tappan spared no expense, contracting the world-renowned telescope manufacturer Henry Fitz to grind a lens for a new refracting telescope. When the completed telescope was installed in 1857, it was one of the largest in the world.⁠ ⁠ This original precision instrument can have a critical application in teaching science to students now. For example, by adding a spectrograph to the Fitz telescope, students can learn how to deduce the composition of a star or planet. ⁠ ⁠ The Fitz refracting telescope will be a main attraction when the Detroit Observatory reopens tomorrow. ⁠ ⁠ If you’d like to see the telescope in person, register for any of the April Statewide Astronomy Nights. This Friday is currently sold out, but you can register for any of the other Friday night viewings in April (15, 22, and 29). Weather permitting, we’ll be able to gaze at the stars through the Fitz telescope.⁠ ⁠ Register for any—or all!—of our April events here: myumi.ch/84g3W⁠$

Seeing Anew: The Detroit Observatory Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.⁠
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It’s almost April 8 and time for the Detroit Observatory to re-open its doors. That means it’s your last chance to register for the grand re-opening events tomorrow!⁠
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We have planned a series of virtual panels exploring the history of this storied landmark, its impact on American astronomy, and the exciting potential of the educational space in the new addition.⁠
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Do you want to see the new addition in person? Our Statewide Astronomy Night is currently sold out for this Friday, but you can join the waitlist. And! We’ve added new dates for Friday night viewings for the rest of the month. Weather permitting, we’ll be able to view the stars through the Observatory’s original Fitz telescope.⁠
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Register for any—or all!—of our April events here: myumi.ch/84g3W⁠
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All events are free and open to the public.⁠

The Detroit Observatory is ready for the next chapter in its storied history!⁠
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The observatory was built in 1854 and quickly became the centerpiece of scientific advancement at U-M. Now, 168 years later and after a three-year expansion project, it is ready for the U-M community and public to again explore the stars.⁠
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“The observatory can become a dynamic center for engaging U-M’s history as well as astronomy and science both historic and contemporary,” says Gary Krenz, director of the observatory.⁠
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“It’s a magical place where visitors will be able to explore U-M history, thrill to look through telescopes that were an important part of that history, and discover some of the observatory’s legacy in exciting developments of 21st-century research.”⁠
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Read more about the important legacy of the observatory at the University Record: myumi.ch/NmyqM⁠
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Register to be a part of the symposium for the reopening of the Detroit Observatory here: myumi.ch/M9z6R⁠
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#detroitobservatory #bentleyhistoricallibrary #universityrecord #umichastronomy #michiganhistory

Join us this Friday, April 8! The Detroit Observatory will be launching the next phase of its Michigan legacy with a symposium titled Seeing Anew: The Detroit Observatory Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.⁠
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The keynote speaker, astrophysicist Brian Nord, will discuss the role of science in society and how humans organize themselves to learn.⁠
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Brian received his Ph.D. in astrophysics from U-M in 2010. He currently works on teaching machines to search for clues of the universe’s origin and destiny. In particular, he uses artificial intelligence to study the cosmos, including dark energy, dark matter, and the early universe. He actively works on statistical modeling of strong gravitational lenses, the cosmic microwave background, and galaxy clusters.⁠
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Dr. Nord is also a leader in the movement to address inequities and oppression in academic and research environments. He co-founded the Deep Skies Community (deepskieslab.ai), which is dedicated to shared leadership and prioritizing the humanity of research colleagues over productivity—one of the first of its kind.⁠
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Don’t miss his conversation with Detroit Observatory Director Gary Krenz at 7:00pm Friday night. Register here: myumi.ch/M9z6R⁠
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#detroitobservatory #bentleyhistoricallibrary

Did you know the Detroit Observatory has had three different names? For this Throwback Thursday, let’s review. Until 1931, it was known as "The Detroit Observatory of the University of Michigan." It was then named "The Observatory of the University of Michigan" for the majority of the 20th century before becoming what many of you know it as – the Detroit Observatory – in 1999. And soon, there will be a fourth name added to this storied list!⁠
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Preview the newly renovated Detroit Observatory and its new name: https://detroitobservatory.umich.edu⁠
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#detroitobservatory #bentleyhistoricallibrary #throwbackthursday

We can’t wait to show you the new and improved Judy and Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory! ⁠
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Mark your calendars: The Observatory will launch the next phase of its Michigan legacy with a symposium on April 8, 2022, titled Seeing Anew: The Detroit Observatory Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.⁠
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Join us for a series of virtual panels exploring the history of this storied landmark, its impact on American astronomy, and the exciting potential of the educational space in the new addition.⁠
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Do you want to see the new addition in person? Join us that same evening for Statewide Astronomy Night. Weather permitting, we’ll be able to view the stars through the Observatory’s original Fitz telescope.⁠
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We can’t wait to show you everything! Register for any—or all!—of the April 8 events here: https://detroitobservatory.umich.edu/seeing-anew⁠
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All events are free and open to the public.⁠
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#detroitobservatory #bentleyhistoricallibrary

“For most of the university’s history, African American students’ experiences were a combination of institutional barriers and the determination to overcome them.” —Angela Dillard, Chair of the Department of History.⁠
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The African American Student Project (AASP) at the Bentley features stories, autobiographies, and biographies about some of the remarkable African American students who attended U-M and the diverse nature of their experiences. Pictured above is the Negro-Caucasian Club, with the stated purpose: to encourage a spirit of friendliness and fair-mindedness between the races, and to study and discuss, impartially, the problems arising in relations between them.⁠
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Because historical records of African American students, their living situations, their organizations, and their overall experiences on this campus are sadly rare, this project is a long-term endeavor. We are in an early phase with data through 1956, and will be adding to it over time. We need help to make the data as robust as possible.⁠
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We invite the public to use the database on the AASP website to provide more complete information or correct errors in our data.⁠
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Find the AASP website: myumi.ch/Aw4np⁠
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Read more about the African American Student Project (AASP) in the University Record: myumi.ch/DJzd5⁠
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#bentleyhistoricallibrary #universityrecord #umichhistory #michiganhistory #umichcampus

In 1937, first-year student Jean Fairfax arrived at the University of Michigan and encountered a system of segregated housing that required her to live off campus. Exclusion did not deter her, however, as her longest-lasting legacy came in direct response to this housing discrimination. Fairfax was intrigued by the cooperative housing movement emerging on campus in the 1930s. She was instrumental in establishing the Lester House cooperative at 909 E. University Ave. Named for British pacifist Muriel Lester, the residence was the first interracial house for women on campus. (The first group of female students at Lester House appear in the second slide.)⁠
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The personal and academic success of Fairfax and many others are chronicled in stories and documents at the Bentley Historical Library—all as part of our long-term project on the history of African Americans at the University of Michigan.⁠
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Read more about Jean Fairfax and the African American Student Project (AASP) at Michigan Today: myumi.ch/84Em3⁠
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Explore the AASP website at the Bentley: myumi.ch/Aw4np⁠
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#bentleyhistoricallibrary #michigantoday #umichhistory #michiganhistory #umichcampus

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