Browse Items (217 total)

Governor Mark Warner signed the Emergency Preparedness Executive Order on Jan. 31, 2002. The order launched the Secure Virginia Initiative, established the Secure Virginia Panel, directed state agencies to prepare or update emergency response plans,…

By the 1870s, bicycles and tricycles using wire-spoked wheels were common, particularly in England. Albert A. Pope became the first American bicycle manufacturer under the trade name “Columbia” in Connecticut in 1878.The popularity of bicycles in the…

After the Civil War, Black Virginians faced both opportunities and challenges. State law segregated public schools. As a result, a class of Black educators emerged to become leaders not only of their schools, but also of their communities whose…

The Battle of Great Bridge, fought in December 1775, was Virginia’s first large-scale battle in the American Revolution. The Virginia militia fought against British regular troops and Loyalist militia that included a unit of Black soldiers. The…

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four flights were hijacked by members of the Islamic extremist group, al- Qaeda, in a coordinated attack against the United States. All four hijacked planes were scheduled to be cross-country flights from the…

After the Civil War, Virginia and other Confederate states were required by Congress to write new state constitutions in order for their representatives to be seated in Congress. Virginia's convention met from December 3, 1867 to April 17, 1868, and…

“At the Mercy of the Deluge” by artist George H, Ben Johnson was published in the Richmond Planet on July 19, 1919. A mail carrier and an artist, he began publishing editorial cartoons in the Richmond Planet in 1918. His cartoons appeared weekly in…

The American Revolution was not only fought along the eastern seabord between the Continental Army and patriot militia and the British troops and their loyalist militia allies. An equally fierce battle raged in the Appalachian mountains between the…

Arthur Robert Ashe was one of the greatest tennis players in American history and a noted human rights activist. He was the first and to date is the only Black man to win the singles title in three Grand Slam tennis events--the U.S. Open (1968), the…

In March 1865, before the Civil War had ended, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (generally known as the Freedmen’s Bureau) to supervise matters related to freed people as well as to distribute land "abandoned" by…