A collage of two "Iowa Girls Basketball Yearbooks", one from 1958 and one from 1963. The 1958 yearbook has a girl sitting in a chair on top of a staircase, wearing a crown and holding a basketball. Next to the stairs are three female athletes: a tennis player, baseball player and golfer. The 1963 yearbook has several pairs of women playing basketball, tennis, and baseball.

Happy National Iowa Day!

#DYK the first state tournament for girls’ basketball in Iowa was in 1920?

Tickets for the Sweet Sixteen tournament in Des Moines would sell out quickly; the championship game was televised across the Midwest. Read more at #HumanitiesMagazine: ow.ly/TRjk50UStCO

A black and white photograph of President Ronald Reagan in front of an American flag. He wears a suit jacket, white button-down shirt, tie, and pocket square.

Happy Birthday President Ronald Reagan!  

Reagan famously borrowed the phrase “city on a hill” from a 1630 sermon by John Winthrop for his farewell address.  

Read about the Puritan movement in America, driven by Winthrop, in #HumanitiesMagazine: ow.ly/tqbU50UR8HV

📸: Library of Congress

The book cover of Kembrew McLeod's "The Downtown Pop Underground: New York City and the literary punks, renegade artists, DIY filmmakers, mad playwrights and rock 'n' roll glitter queens who revolutionized culture." The photo collage features images of the Fillmore Eat, artists walking on the street and performers.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, Andy Warhol’s NYC studio, the Factory, was the epicenter of the birth of Pop Art, reverberating throughout American culture. Read about the #NEHgrant funded book “The Downtown Pop Underground” at #HumanitiesMagazine: ow.ly/SEZN50URk43

A drawing of four men seated at a table discussing ideas; two men are standing in the corner. Most of them wear tricornered hats, long jackets and boots similar to Revolutionary War era clothing.

Happy Birthday to Benjamin Franklin, born #OTD in 1706.

#DYK Franklin was a prolific writer of pamphlets, dating to 1729? These local op-eds hoped to sway readers on current events with detailed responses to newspaper coverage.

Read this #HumanitiesMagazine article: www.neh.gov/article/benj...

Drawing of a prototype of Samuel Morse's telegraph machine.

“A patient waiter is no loser.” #OTD in 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail tested out the first telegraph machine in Morristown, N.J. The telegraph would become an invaluable tool, including to those in meteorology. Read more in this #HumanitiesMagazine story: ow.ly/GSnQ50UzijE

A black and white engraving of Isaac Newton. He has long wavy hair and wears a white shirt and dark robe.

Happy Birthday to Isaac Newton, born #OTD in 1643!

The world is more colorful due to his work with prisms and light, yet he was very secretive around his work on chemistry and alchemy.

Read why in this #HumanitiesMagazine article: www.neh.gov/humanities/2...

A Christmas Carol Was Not His Best Holiday Novel, Charles Dickens Thought

Feeling more “Bah, Humbug” than ever? Festivus is here, and no one would enjoy airing their grievances better than Scrooge himself!

“A Christmas Carol” was not Dickens’ favorite holiday book. Read about four more options in this #HumanitiesMagazine article: ow.ly/5n7550UuYus

Lady Bird Special

Happy Birthday to “Lady Bird” Johnson, born #OTD in 1912!

The First Lady was a savvy political strategist in her own right, riding the “Lady Bird Special” train throughout the south to bolster turnout in the 1964 election. Read more in this #HumanitiesMagazine article: www.neh.gov/humanities/2...

A newspaper ad featuring "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Text says "The fabled story world of DR. SEUSS comes to television for the first time in this colorful special for the whole family! Narrated by Boris Karloff". An image of the Grinch stealing a Christmas tree is in the center.

#OTD in 1966 “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” debuted on TV. #DYK that Dr. Seuss served as the inspiration behind the character and had a “GRINCH” license plate?

Read more in this #HumanitiesMagazine article: www.neh.gov/humanities/2...

A portrait of Jane Austen in black and white with her signature at the bottom of the page. She is wearing an empire waisted dress and bonnet, seated in a chair.

Happy Birthday Jane Austen!

Read more about the beloved author of “Pride and Prejudice” in this #HumanitiesMagazine article: www.neh.gov/humanities/2...

A photograph of Emily Dickinson with a yellow flower at the bottom. She is wearing a dark dress with a white collar and a ribbon tied around her neck.

Happy Birthday Emily Dickinson, born #OTD in 1830! With over 1800 poems to her name, Dickinson used the language of flowers in her work as her family home’s garden was a source of great inspiration.

Read this #HumanitiesMagazine article: ow.ly/LAFq50UmAHM

A photograph of a Black man sitting wearing a striped shirt, suspenders and brown pants holding a tool in his right hand. A Black woman stands next to him with her hands on his shoulder and arm. She wears a burnt orange dress.

Happy Birthday to Ira Gershwin, born #OTD in 1896!

Read about the #NEHgov-supported critical edition of “Porgy and Bess” at the University of Michigan that informed The Metropolitan Opera’s staging of the opera, via #HumanitiesMagazine article: ow.ly/6lE550UfYNW