Happy 172nd Birthday, FSU!

Today marks 172 years since the Florida Legislature (then the General Assembly of the State of Florida) passed a bill establishing an institution of higher learning in Tallahassee in 1851. This institution would eventually become Florida State University. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that 1851 was accepted as FSU’s founding year. Previously, FSU’s foundingContinue reading “Happy 172nd Birthday, FSU!”

On this day in Claude Pepper History: January 18, 1983

From his early days in the United States Senate, Claude Pepper continually advocated for the expansion of Social Security accommodations for all older Americans. The Claude Pepper Papers trace this advocacy from the Senate, to the U.S. House of Representatives, where in 1983 he was appointed to the National Commission on Social Security Reform. InformallyContinue reading “On this day in Claude Pepper History: January 18, 1983”

On This Day: December 12th, 1765

Among the 17th-20th Century Correspondence and Documents Collection at FSU’s Special Collections and Archives, there is a letter from Charles Lyttelton dated December 12th, but as the title of the collection would suggest, it was not written in 2022. This 18th century letter was written on December 12, 1765, and discusses newly uncovered tree fossils.Continue reading “On This Day: December 12th, 1765”

Get Ready to Vote on Election Day!

November 8th is National Election Day! Election Day is the annual day set for general elections, both for federal, state, and local governments. The University has an important resource, FSU Votes , that may come in handy before casting a ballot. There, you can learn more about obtaining a sample ballot, tracking a mail-in ballot, instructionsContinue reading “Get Ready to Vote on Election Day!”

Vintage Valentines in the Archives

In celebration of Valentine’s Day we are reposting this entry from 2020. Valentine’s Day gained popularity in the United States with the introduction of mass-produced Valentines cards around the middle of the 19th century. Most of these early cards have long since disappeared, but we are fortunate to have many examples of early 20th centuryContinue reading “Vintage Valentines in the Archives”

Burns Night

Today, January 25, is a day to celebrate the national bard of Scotland, Robert Burns. Burns was a poet and songwriter who left a deep imprint on the world in his short 37 years. His first collection of poetry Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect was published in 1786. This first edition is known asContinue reading “Burns Night”

Mamie Till-Mobley

November 23rd marks the 100th birthday of Mamie Till-Mobley, American teacher and civil rights activist. The 1955 lynching of her 14-year-old son Emmett Till was a catalyst for the 20th century Civil Rights Movement, and her own activism was no small part of the dissemination of Emmett’s story.

40th Anniversary of the Civic Center

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center! The Civic Center opened as the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center on September 14th, 1981 to 3,000 guests with a performance by the Tallahassee Symphony. Planning for the Civic Center began in the early 1970s, with the acquisition of the 40 acres ofContinue reading “40th Anniversary of the Civic Center”

The Casual Dirac

The Paul A.M. Dirac Papers are a terrific source of information about the public, scholarly side of Paul Dirac: the lecturer, the genius mathematician, a theorist among theorists. However, in our eagerness to honor someone’s professional achievements, it’s easy to gloss over the rest of their personality, the private figure that coexists with the publicContinue reading “The Casual Dirac”