Author Walter Isaacson discusses the life of Benjamin Franklin and his many contributions to the prosperity of colonial Philadelphia and his place in American history.
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Video background from The Library of Congress Webcasts site:
"Emile Berliner (1851-1929) was a German-born immigrant whose inventions contributed to the birth of the recording industry. A largely self-educated man, Berliner was responsible for the development of the microphone, the flat recording disc and the gramophone player. Often overlooked by today's historians, Berliner's creative genius rivaled that of his better-known contemporaries Thomas Alva Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Like the works of these two inventors, Berliner's innovations helped shape the modern American way of life. Berliner's life, work and connection to Washington, D.C., where he lived for many years, is the subject of a talk by Samuel Brylawski and Karen Lund."
Samantha Hunt, author of the historical fiction novel The Invention of Everything Else, written from the perspective of inventor Nikola Tesla, reads an excerpt from her novel and briefly talks about the inventor's life and personality.
These materials—early motion pictures from 1891 to 1918, 81 sound recordings from 1913 to 1920, and related materials, such as photographs and original magazine articles—document Thomas Edison's impact on the history of American entertainment. Edison's inventions included the phonograph, the kinetograph motion picture camera, and the kinetoscope motion picture viewer.
Sound recordings are accessible by title and according to six genres: instrumental selections, popular vocals, spoken word, spoken comedy, foreign language and ethnic recordings, and opera and concert recordings. Films are organized by title, chronologically, and according to genres, including actualities (nonfiction films), advertising, animation, drama and adventure, experimental, humorous, trick, and reenactments. Actuality subjects include disasters, expositions, famous people, foreign places, the navy, police and fire departments, railroads, scenic America, sports and leisure, the variety stage, and war. Special pages focus on the life of the inventor and his contribution to motion picture and sound recording technologies.
In this Face-to-face Talk, Ann Shumard of the National Portrait Gallery details the life of Samuel Morse (1791-1872), including his early interest in portraiture and art, his career as an inventor and his work on the telegraph, and his support of Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype.
Don Vitale of Archiving Early America narrates an overview of Benjamin Franklin's early life and his scientific, social, and inventive accomplishments prior to the Revolutionary War.
Captioned and uncaptioned versions of the film are available.
Maury Klein of the University of Rhode Island discusses the importance of technological development in U.S. history. He examines the topic from a broad view, establishing context for his later discussion of Frederick Douglass. This lecture was delivered as part of "America in the Civil War Era: A History Institute for Teachers," held May 17-18 at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College and Adult Education, Carthage College.
Audio and video options are available.
Daniel Walker Howe, Professor of History Emeritus, UCLA, and Rhodes Professor of American History Emeritus, Oxford University, discusses the period 1815-1848—focusing on innovation in communication and its consequences. This lecture was delivered as part of "America in the Civil War Era: A History Institute for Teachers," held May 17-18 at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College and Adult Education, Carthage College.
Audio and video options are available.
Cultural resources manager of the Anacostia Museum Portia James discusses Creole inventor Norbert Rillieux's invention of the vacuum evaporator, a device that increased the efficiency of water evaporation and boosted the growth of the sugar industry.
To view this lecture, select "Scholars," followed by "Portia James." Select one of the Windows Media options.
Historians Monica Smith and Will Eastman outline the invention and development of the electric guitar in the 20th century.