About
Stories
Resources

Search

0 Results

Tag Archives: history

No posts found.

Search for:

On this day in 1920, a new library building was dedicated at U-M! 📖

It was known as the “General Library” back then, but today you might know this building better as the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library!

U-M's old library building had become a fire hazard, due to its wooden frame, so the library you see here was built to replace it, including:

🎨 Paintings in the entryway inspired by ancient art from Pompeii

📑 A study room floored with “special flecked cork" from Spain which, the Michigan Daily reassured readers, would not “chip up like regular cork tile”

📚 Two fireproof sections of shelving saved from the old library

🕊️ A large vaulted reading room featuring two arched paintings titled: “The Arts of War,” and “The Arts of Peace,” by Gari Melchers, originally created for the World’s Fair in Chicago

During the dedication ceremony in Hill Auditorium, the audience enjoyed singing and organ music, as well as speeches from people including U-M librarian William Bishop, and famous architect Albert Kahn!

In honor of the newly built library, rare book expert Wilfred Voynich loaned an exhibit of beautifully detailed “illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period” to the library for three days, according to the Daily.

Happy birthday to the Hatcher Library building! 🎂🥳

📸: Photos from the Ivory Photo Collection and the U-M Photograph Vertical Files

#OnThisDay #1920s #UMich #HarlanHatcherGraduateLibrary #LibraryDedication

Welcome back! 🎉

We're so excited to see you back in the reading room this year!

Everyone is welcome to visit the Bentley to explore things like:

📸 Early photos of Ann Arbor neighborhoods!

📖 University of Michigan yearbooks dating as far back as 1866!

🐿️ Student scrapbooks full of things like squirrel pictures, football scores, and hand-painted valentines.

🍩 Vintage Michigan recipes involving lots and lots of gelatin.

🗺️ Historical maps of the state of Michigan (fun fact: early mapmakers thought Michigan was pointy!)

⭐ And even more Michigan history!

Come visit our reading room on North Campus any time during our open hours, Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM, and see what treasures you can find in the archives.

Remember; you don’t have to have a research question in mind!

We’re glad to help you, whether you’re visiting for the first time, or you've visited a hundred times.

We can’t wait to see you in the reading room! ♥️ Happy 2025!

#Archives #UMich #HistoricalLibrary #WelcomeBack #2025 #HappyNewYear #AboutTheArchives #MichiganHistory

Looking back at 200 years of Ann Arbor history! ⭐

In honor of the final day of the city’s Bicentennial year, we’re sharing some glimpses of Ann Arbor history from the archives:

🏢 Shops on Main Street circa 1855-1862

🚃 An electric trolley on Main Street circa 1893

🚂 The Michigan Central Railroad Station in Ann Arbor in 1905

🐴 A horse-drawn buggy and an automobile on Ann Street in the 1920s

🚗 A view of State Street between 1920 and 1930

👞 Students walking across U-M’s campus in the 1930s

🚲 Student bikes outside the Frieze building in 1962

🏈 Michigan Stadium seen from above in 1999

✈️ An aerial view of Ann Arbor in 2000

We can’t wait to share more history with you in 2025!

Have a happy New Year’s Eve, everyone! 🎉

If you're interested in seeing more local history, you can find many scanned historical pictures of Ann Arbor in our online Image Bank, which everyone is welcome to explore.

You can also explore more photos like these in archival collections at the Bentley, listed below! 📖

📸: Photos from the archival News & Information Photos, Ivory Photos, Sam Sturgis Photos, Postcard Collection, Athletic Department records, University Planner’s Office records, Robert Kalmbach photos, and the U-M Photograph Vertical Files

#AnnArbor #Bicentennial #History #Archives #200Years #HappyNewYearsEve

TBT to these U-M students boarding buses for the winter break in 1939! 🚌

As you head back home for break, we hope you’ll have a wonderful time, whether you’re:

♥️ Spending time with friends and family

📖 Catching up on all the tv shows and books you’ve been meaning to get around to

⭐ Or just basking happily in the fact that you’ve finished your final exams!

Happy holidays, from all of us here at the Bentley! ❄️

📸: Ivory Photo Collection

#TBT #WinterBreak #HappyHolidays #StudentLife #UMich

On this day in 1868, an early bicycle was ridden through Detroit’s streets for the very first time, according to the Detroit Free Press! 🚲

"Yesterday the first Detroit man that had the temerity to bestride the velocipede, and show his skill in the public streets, might have been seen moving slowly along Jefferson avenue," the 1868 Detroit Free Press wrote.

"The bold rider," the newspaper declared, was "none other than the irrepressible Ben Fletcher of the Michigan News Company."

This early bicycle ride was reportedly a wobbly one.

Ben would ride along "bravely" for a stretch, and then, when he seemed in danger of losing his balance, "a man on each side of him" would steady the velocipede.

He needed them; many early velocipedes (early versions of what became the modern bicycle) had their pedals attached to their front wheel, making them tricky to balance.

Ben Fletcher did fall off several times, or as the newspaper put it, the velocipede "not infrequently seated the rider on the damp sidewalk."

However, people thought, even then, that the city should start getting used to these early bicycles.

"Before long velocipedes will be as plentiful as carriages in the streets, and velocipeding will become as popular as driving or skating," the Detroit Free Press predicted.

Interested in exploring more history like this, with newspapers like the early Detroit Free Press?

You can use many historical newspaper databases in the Bentley’s Reading Room!

The Bentley's archives also hold physical copies of newspapers from places across Michigan, including Detroit, which you are welcome to explore. 😊

📸: Image from “The velocipede : its history, varieties, and practice” by J.T. Goddard

📰: Quotes from the Detroit Free Press, Dec. 19, 1868 edition

#OTD #DetroitHistory #Michigan #Velocipedes #EarlyBicycles #HistoricalNewspapers

In honor of today’s graduates, here’s what graduation was like at U-M 100 years ago! 🕐

The 1924 graduates were lucky enough to find themselves under clear, sunny skies on Ferry Field, which was the football field back then.

(That field also hosted regional Olympic tryouts that very same year! 🏈)

"Class by class, the graduates took their places in the South bleachers of historic Ferry Field, and class by class they marched upon the platform to receive their various degrees from the University,” wrote the Michigan Daily in 1924.

The graduation stage was set up with long streamers of fabric, two U.S. flags, and a large State of Michigan flag, above the speaker’s podium, and decorated with ferns and flowers.

"With fervent hopes and well wishes in the hearts of friends, parents, and classmates, each of the two thousand Michigan graduates lays aside the gown of University, and their life begins,” the Daily wrote.

You can see photos of that commencement ceremony here, from the Michiganensian yearbook at the time!

Congratulations to this year’s graduates! 🎓 We can’t wait to see the history you make!

#MGoGrad #GoBlue #Congratulations! #GoMakeHistory #HappyGraduation #WeBelieveInYou

A snowy day on the Huron River, over 100 years ago! ❄️

Here are a few wintery ways the Huron River has shaped Ann Arbor life, from the archives:

⛸️ People used to go ice skating on the frozen surface of the Huron River!

🏒 The river was used as an early ice hockey rink!

🧊 Horse-drawn plows and saws were used to carve blocks of ice from the river, for Ann Arbor families to use to preserve their food!

😊 And, of course, people have always enjoyed walking along the banks of the Huron River, through the beautiful snow-covered landscape.

Click through to enjoy photos of a group of historical ice-skaters (and a dog) on the Huron River, and early ice hockey players on the river's frozen surface!

📸 1: Snowy day on the Huron River from the 1919 Michiganensian yearbook

📸 2: Historical ice skaters with a dog, on the Huron River, undated, from the Sam Sturgis Photo Collection (sourced by Sam Sturgis from Frank Maynard)

📸 3: Early Literary Class ice hockey team from the 1912 Michiganensian yearbook

#Winter #HuronRiver #AnnArbor #MichiganHistory #Snow #IceSkating #IceHockey #FlashbackFriday

Good luck on your finals, Wolverines! 📖💙 We believe in you!

If you're getting ready for exams, here are some 1890s study tips from early U-M Professor Martin D’Ooge:

🕑 “Give each lesson its due share of time.”

Professor D’Ooge recommended creating a study schedule, and finding a space where you can work uninterrupted!

🐑 Avoid “wool-gathering,” or aimless and wistful daydreaming.

🧠 Give your brain a break if it needs one!

Professor D’Ooge suggested taking a break from your physics studies now and then, to work on studying a topic you find fun and relaxing... such as Ancient Greek.

(Perhaps not coincidentally, he also taught classes in Greek at U-M at the time!)

How do these study tips from over 100 years ago compare to today?

Wishing you the best of luck on your exams!

📸: Early U-M students studying organic chemistry, circa 1893, from the Medical School records

#UMich #Finals #History #StudyTips #Exams #Over100YearsAgo #WeBelieveInYou

Meet Madison Haack! ⭐

As a student assistant, Madison helps visitors to the archives, and brings out historical papers for them to explore in the Bentley’s reading room!

“I'm in one of the more public-facing roles at the Bentley, welcoming guests into our space,” Madison explains.

She is currently working towards her MSI degree at the School of Information, and she’s excited to help visitors dig into the archives for answers to their questions. 📖

“There are so many reasons to utilize the archives! What if you want to know more about your great aunt who used to go here? Maybe you're interested in the grassroots student movements, or are curious about notable figures from the state of Michigan's history… There are so many cool things to be discovered,” Madison says.

In the future, Madison would love to work in an academic setting, either in libraries, or archives.

“I hope to have a role that allows me to work with people, and work in instruction and outreach,” Madison says. “I love sharing everything that institutions like the Bentley have to offer.”

Click through to see one piece of advice Madison would give to new researchers!

Welcome, Madison! 🎉

📸: @umschoolofinformation student Madison Haack

#Archives #UMich #History #HistoricalLibrary #Welcome #OurStudentsAreAwesome

Help open doors for amazing students like these! ⭐

It’s no secret that education is more expensive than ever. Many students work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

This Giving Tuesday, we’re asking if you’ll reach out a helping hand to support students, so that they can study and work with less financial struggle.

Your gifts to the Bentley Fund for Student Support will create more student jobs in the archives, at higher wages, giving more students a chance to have direct, hands-on experience with historic materials.

We believe it’s important to help free students from a difficult choice between a job that provides direct, hands-on experience in the archives, or a non-archival job that pays more.

Students deserve a chance to learn and grow in the archives. Every gift matters! 💙

#GivingTuesday #StudentSupport #MakeAnImpact #SupportMatters #Archives #HandsOnExperience #UMich

Happy Thanksgiving from the archives! 🦃

Did you know that early U-M students had a tradition of raising money each year to buy a turkey for the “hat man,” Jim Ottley, who worked in the library and checked peoples’ hats at the door?

“The twinkle in Jim’s eyes is always bright, but about Thanksgiving time it takes on an added luster, for it has become a custom of the students to give the old man his turkey dinner, and this year was no exception to the rule,” the Michigan Daily wrote in 1900.

The Daily described this annual tradition in an article titled “The Old Library “Hat Man” Gets His Annual Thanksgiving Fowl—Has a Varied and Thrilling Past.”

Jim, who was 86 years old at the time that article was written, had worked as a cabin boy in the English navy, then served as a valet for “a distinguished English nobleman” before making his way to the U.S.

At U-M, he served first as a janitor, and then as the beloved “hat man,” who seems to have very much enjoyed this annual display of Thanksgiving kindness from the students!

You can learn more about Jim Ottley and others in the article “Campus Characters” from the U-M Heritage Project, and you can click through to see a photo of Jim from the David Forbes photograph collection!

#HappyThanksgiving #UMich #CampusHistory #DidYouKnow #ActsOfKindness #TurkeyDay

Love football history? 🏈

Our new & former Athletics Archivists recently teamed up to explore the history of Thanksgiving football at U-M, with CBS Detroit’s lead sports anchor and reporter, @rachelhopmayer!

Click through to see some of the football history they highlighted from the archives, including newspaper clippings, and photos of the Wolverines during early Thanksgiving games! 🦃

Did you know that there was an early rivalry between Michigan and Chicago, that used to play out during an annual Thanksgiving football game?

Check out the Thanksgiving Day Pregame Show on CBS Detroit at 11:00 AM ET on November 28, 2024, before the Lions game, to learn even more about the history of Thanksgiving football from these athletics experts!

#UMich #ThanskgivingFootball #Wolverines #FootballHistory #GoBlue #Michigan

Snowy days, past and present! ❄️

"The memory of all others most vivid in my mind is the fairyland that the snow and sun made of the campus one winter's morning,” wrote 1904 alum Maude Brown.

“Every tiny branch was snow-covered and frosted, 'til it resembled lace, and the sun made a scene so beautiful, I can never hope to see anything more lovely."

This beautiful description of U-M’s snowy campus is preserved in the historic Alumnae Surveys collection, but it could just as easily have described the campus this morning!

In honor of the first snow of the season, click through to see some snowy pictures of U-M’s campus through history!

1: A snowy day at the Bentley Historical Library (today)
2: A snowy day on the Diag circa 1900
3: A snowy day at U-M's old General Library in 1914

📸: U-M Vertical File Photos

#TBT #Snow #MichiganHistory #UMich #Snowscapes #PastAndPresent #OldPhotos #CampusLife

The Law School’s underground library addition in November of 1984! 📖

Built just three years before this picture was taken, this unusual space answered a desperate need.

The original Law Library was overflowing with books at the time! 🏛️

To avoid breaking up the beauty of the Law Quad, architect Gunnar Birkerts decided to do something unusual: bring the library underground!

But this choice came with its own set of challenges. Alumni worried that the space would be dark and cramped.

Birkerts' solution was to add enormous paneled windows, jutting deep into the earth, to let in lots of natural light! ☀️

“The angular skylight of the new underground law library should help brighten diligent law students' subterranean studies, and sharpen their knowledge of the law," the Michigan Daily wrote in 1981.

If you’re curious to learn more about this building, the Gunnar Birkerts and Associates records live on in the Bentley’s archives!

You can also check out the U-M Heritage Project article “The Law School Goes Under” for more history about this iconic underground space.

📸: Gunnar Birkerts and Associates records

#UMich #LawLibrary #LawQuad #LawSchool #MichiganHistory #GunnarBirkerts

Meet Krystel Anderson! ⭐

“I am excited to work with historical materials, it feels like a really hands-on way to engage with history!” Krystel says.

Krystel is a student who works at the Bentley Historical Library, helping us make sure that archival papers relating to Native American history are properly handled.

She has a BA in Psychology with a Minor in Native American Studies, and she is currently working towards her MSI in Library Science at U-M's School of Information! 📖

“I am interested in the intersection of traditional knowledge and digital curation,” Krystel says, “Essentially, how we can better incorporate indigenous knowledge, and community standards, into digital preservation efforts.”

In the future, she would like to work in an academic library, or archive, helping community organizations keep their digital history safe. 💻💙

Welcome, Krystel!

#Archives #UMich #History #HistoricalLibrary #MSI #NativeAmericanHistory #OurStudentsAreAwesome

Honoring veterans past and present. ❤️

On this day in 1918, World War I ended, and an armistice was declared.

Ann Arbor factories blew whistles, bells rang, and students gathered around a bonfire “sending up cheer after cheer,” according to the Michigan Daily!

"The whole town turned itself into a personification of the Oh-Say-Can-You-See spirit,” the Daily wrote.

“An abundance of flags practically buried the city in their folds while bunting and other decorations were liberally scattered over every available object.”

Everything from streetcars to fire trucks turned out for Ann Arbor’s armistice parade, and people filled the streets with confetti.

Armistice Day would eventually become Veterans Day, honoring all who have served.

After World War I ended, the U-M yearbook published a 1919 memorial volume dedicated to the efforts of those who fought in World War I, titled the “War Record.”

This remarkable book still survives in the archives today, and is available for anyone to view.

Click through to see pictures of this memorial yearbook from 1919, commemorating the efforts of U-M’s students, faculty, and staff, during World War I.

📸: University of Michigan Photograph Vertical File, World War I, and the 1919 War Record memorial yearbook

#VeteransDay #AnnArbor #ArmisticeDay #WorldWarI #WWI #Veterans #MichiganHistory

Need a peaceful moment? 💙

Here's a historic photo of U-M architect Allen Pond holding four kittens, and sitting next to a small dog!

Fun fact: Allen Pond was one of the Pond & Pond architects, a brother duo who designed the Michigan Union and the Michigan League! ⭐

📸: Pond Family papers

#UMich #MichiganHistory #AllenPond #Peaceful #Kittens #FlashbackFriday

Voting at the Michigan League in 1968! ⭐

🏛️ Several iconic U-M buildings have served as polling places over the years, including the League, the Michigan Union, and Mosher Hall!

So, if you voted at UMMA this year, you’re part of a long historic tradition. 😊

Here are a few other fun facts about U-M’s voting history:

✅ Long before computers, telegraphs were used to send election updates to Ann Arbor!

🎱 Historic U-M students could see voting results projected via lanterns onto large curtains, or written on blackboards in gathering places, like the local billiards hall!

💡 One local newspaper also flashed search lights into the sky in order to share updates on an early presidential election!

"Interested in the identity of the next president of the United States? If so, watch the sky in the vicinity of the Ann Arbor Press building on Maynard street tonight,” the 1912 Michigan Daily announced.

“The Michigan Daily will operate a search-light from the roof above its offices, flashing the election returns at short intervals.”

“If Wilson is leading the light will be sent straight up into the air; in case Roosevelt is in the lead, the light will be sent up in broken flashes; if Taft is ahead, the light will be sent from side to side in half-circles.”

Vote to make your own mark on history! ⭐

Click through to see more photos of voters at the Michigan League in 1968!

📸: News and Information Photographs, 1968

#ElectionDay #UMich #MichiganHistory #AnnArbor #UMichVotes

On this day 100 years ago, this photo was snapped of U-M football player Benny Friedman, intercepting a pass in midair! 🏈

This 1924 football game featured the Michigan Wolverines and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who competed while the Little Brown Jug trophy waited patiently on the sidelines. 🏆

(The trophy was given its own special pedestal.)

Despite the fact that the Wolverines’ team captain was resting from a foot injury, and couldn’t join them on the field, U-M scored two touchdowns in the first half.

“The Gophers fought valiantly, but couldn’t withstand the tricky plays of the Victors,” the Michigan Daily wrote; ultimately, U-M won 13 to 0.

A lucky photographer snapped this photo just as Friedman was catching the football in mid-air!

📸: Athletic Department records, 1924

#OTD #UMich #Wolverines #FootballHistory #LittleBrownJug #100YearsAgo

Happy Halloween from the archives! 🎃

We’re celebrating by sharing tricks and treats from Michigan’s history!

🦄 Historical Trick: In 1954, the Michigan Daily reported sightings of a “unicorn” in the Law Quad!

The unicorn was actually a horse named Whirlaway, loaned by a local farmer to U-M student Theodore Swift.

Theodore planned to fasten a conical hat, striped “in the fashion of a barber pole,” to the horse’s head, according to his later description of the event, in the Law Quad Notes.

This prank was inspired by the cartoon movie, “The Unicorn in the Garden,” which was playing in Ann Arbor at the time!

Historical Treat: In 1980, School of Music students dressed up in Halloween costumes for a musical performance—and dressed up their instruments, too! 🎩

Pictures in the News and Information collection in the archives show several of the cellos and basses wearing hats, including a cowboy hat, and a witch’s hat!

Click through for another treat, and another trick, from the archives!

Have a wonderful Halloween, and Go Boo! 💙🎃

You can learn more about the “Unicorn in the Garden” incident in Michigan Today writer Jim Tobin’s piece “When Animals Went to School,” and you can find more historical photos like the ones seen in this post in the Bentley’s Online Image Bank!

#HappyHalloween #Archives #MichiganHistory #TrickOrTreat #GoBoo

Resources
Stories
About

1150 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109

ajrutled@umich.edu

The History of U-M site is managed by the Bentley Historical Library

© 2025 Regents of the University of Michigan

Land Acknowledgment Statement