Archivist Update: Empire State Building Turns 85

On May 1, 2016, the Empire State Building marks 85 years since it officially opened on May 1, 1931, with the press of a button by President Herbert Hoover in Washington, D.C to turn on the lights.

World War II: Unforgettable Stories

Powerful, visceral, and essential to preserving and understanding our past, the work of Associated Press photographers and journalists lives on through the pages of World War II.

Blackout of 1965

Within minutes, 30 million people were in the dark. A power failure originating at a Canadian station near Niagara Falls spread the evening of Nov. 9, 1965, leaving most of the Northeast U.S. and parts of Canada without power for hours.

The Fall of Saigon: A Reporter’s View

More than two decades of war in Vietnam, first involving the French and then the Americans, ended with the last days of April 1975.

Archivist Update: Yosemite

John Muir, geologist, writer, and naturalist, was born today, April 21, in 1838. Muir, who co-founded the Sierra Club, is known for his activism which led to the further preservation of Yosemite and the establishment of Yosemite National Park.

70th Anniversary of Joe Rosenthal’s Iwo Jima

On Feb. 23, 1945, a 33-year-old Associated Press photographer who had been rejected from the Army because of poor eyesight took a photograph that would ultimately become one of the most recognizable and reproduced images in history.

Oscars’ Memorable Moments

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, dates back to 1929, when the first ceremony honoring excellence in film was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The Beatles in 1964

In February 1964, the Beatles took America by storm, and rock ‘n’ roll was never the same.

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

On January 28, 1986, the American Space Shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida on its 10th mission.

Archivist Update: Martin Luther King Jr.

This Monday marks the annual American holiday observed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., the nonviolent activist and humanitarian leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Photographer Max Desfor

Few people were eyewitnesses to more 20th century history than Max Desfor.

Berlin Wall: When the Wall Stood and Today

Berlin’s appearance has changed enormously since the fall on Nov. 9, 1989 of the Berlin Wall, which for nearly three decades divided the communist east from the city’s west — a capitalist enclave deep inside East Germany.

Archivist Update: Glass Plate Negatives

There was no such thing as “point and shoot” during photography’s first century and a half. Until the mid-20th century, the photographer had to exert great physical effort, care, and time to obtain a single image.

The First Presidential TV Debate

Today In History: On Sept. 26, 1960, the first U.S. televised debate was broadcasted between major party presidential candidates.

Past and Present: Mosul, Iraq

A trove of photographs now housed at the Library of Congress offers a glimpse of Mosul, Iraq, before wars, insurgency, sectarian strife and now radicals’ rule. The scenes were taken in the autumn of 1932 by staff from the American Colony Photo Department during a visit to Iraq at the end of the British mandate.

The First World War Centennial

A hundred years ago, on July 28th, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, this event marked the the start of the First World War. It was the beginning of an era that paved the way for the economic, social, and political changes to come, and mobilized more than 70 million military personnel in one of

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Visit our interactive page and explore the social movement, through AP’s coverage, leading up to this landmark legislation.

All Eyes on Brazil

After so much talk about delays, protests and problems, fans will at last get a chance to cheer for Brazil’s national team on home soil in Sao Paulo in football’s 2014 FIFA World Cup opening game. Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil, will host a succession of matches including the final match of the

Cannes Film Festival: Then and Now

The Cannes International Film Festival is held annually in Cannes, France and honors new films from all over the globe. Although the festival has origins beginning in the late 1930s, it was officially established in 1947. Cannes International Film Festival is considered to be one of the most prestigious film festivals, with the top award

Today In History: Ali refused to be inducted into the Army

On April 28, 1967, boxing champ Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army after being drafted by the U.S. Armed Forces.

Today In History: Hubble Telescope Launched

On April 24, 1990, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was named after American astronomer Edwin Hubble, who is considered one of the most important observational cosmologists

Archivist Update: Early Air Pollution

In this addition of Archivist Update, we highlight an image depicting a college student wearing a gas mask as he “smells” a magnolia blossom in City Hall Park on Earth Day, April 22, 1970, in New York.