Tag Archives: michigan history

  • Bentley Historical Library

    The Copper Line

    After copper miners went on strike in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in July 1913, violence wasn’t far behind. Documents at the Bentley reveal multiple sides of a terrible conflict, and investigations at the highest levels of government to uncover what really happened.

    read more
  • Bentley Historical Library

    Michigan’s Moderates

    With the relatively recent deaths of former Congressman John D. Dingell, former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken, and, most recently, former United States Senator Carl Levin, we ask: what can the lives of remarkable public service and long-term political success and recognition teach us? Scholars will no doubt argue over this in coming years, and they will do so, in part, by visiting the Bentley archives.

    read more
  • Bentley Historical Library

    What Time Is It Now?

    Trains crashing. People dying. Businesses struggling. The perils of keeping incorrect time in Detroit were significant, and the city desperately needed a solution. A visionary academic, a knowledge-loving businessman, and new technology to plot the stars would converge on a small hill at U-M, changing Detroit—and the campus—forever.

    read more
  • Bentley Historical Library

    Flying Saucers and Swamp Gas

    A rash of UFO sightings across Michigan in the mid-1960s launched investigations by the highest levels of the U.S. government. Collections at the Bentley document several aspects of these widespread close encounters. Was it spaceships or swamp gas? The answer may depend on whose papers you peruse.

    read more