History First

We blog about presidential history & trivia 🤓 Check out our podcast:

[History First @History_1st]

Nellie Taft is one of our favorite First Ladies https://t.co/Bjb1XOBe2b

[History First @History_1st]

https://t.co/sF7P42cYfP

[History First @History_1st]

When we wrote about what the world looked like in 1921, we mentioned the Tulsa massacre as a defining moment that year. Incredibly, a survivor lived to testify before Congress this week:

[The Recount @therecount]

“I hear the screams. I have lived through the massacre everyday. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot.”

— 107-year-old Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, testifies during a hearing about possible compensation for victims.

[History First @History_1st]

At the onset of the Revolutionary War, George Washington vowed to be “particularly attentive to the least Symptoms of the Smallpox.” He promised: “ the utmost Vigilance against this most dangerous enemy.”

https://t.co/yyzvwOljzm

[History First @History_1st]

@APHpodcast "Mornings on Horseback" by David McCullough is a great, intricate look at Roosevelt's early life and young adulthood.

[History First @History_1st]

Very cool interactive NYT piece on how artwork in the Oval Office has (and hasn't) changed from Kennedy to Biden:

https://t.co/jfZjToik0s

[History First @History_1st]

Read more about how John Tyler became viewed as a traitor: https://t.co/DRSizWHK2w

[History First @History_1st]

Was John Tyler a traitor? The New York Times certainly thought so. When the former president died after joining the Confederacy, they wrote this biting obituary:

[History First @History_1st]

...and beneath that melancholy wreck his name will be buried, instead of being inscribed on the Capitol’s monumental marble, as a year ago he so much desired.”

[Jonathan Martin @jmart]

"A son of a minister of modest means, Fritz Mondale, as he was widely known, led a rich public life that began in Minnesota under the tutelage of his state’s progressive pathfinder, Hubert H. Humphrey."

The great @StevenRWeisman >

https://t.co/mKRErE0p60

[LBJ Library @LBJLibrary]

“I shall not seek, & I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”

#OTD 1968: LBJ shocked the nation announcing he would not run for reelection & ordering a bombing halt. The reelection decision was a guarded secret until the speech's end.

[History First @History_1st]

As the cherry trees blossom in Washington D.C., it's a good time to reflect on the life of Nellie Herron Taft. As first lady, she brought 100 of the trees to the capital. When the mayor of Tokyo heard, he sent 2,000 more.

https://t.co/ILNOcBIvjc

[History First @History_1st]

Kennedy never forgave him

https://t.co/v1S9OPeOZH

[History First @History_1st]

RIP Roger Mudd, who in 1979 stumped Ted Kennedy with a seemingly easy question:

“Why do you want to be president?”

https://t.co/9uDiGlBt9f

[History First @History_1st]

Americans were horrified when Sputnik took to the skies. President Eisenhower said the satellite "does not raise my apprehensions, not one iota."

But it would take the US a while to catch up.

[Yesterday in Travel Podcast @yesterdayintrav]

New episode! How a tiny metal orb called Sputnik gave what would later be known as the Space Race it's official start when it successfully orbited Earth one fateful day in October 1957: https://t.co/widzZIzgOb

[One Small Step History @1stephistory]

From 1991:
📷: @USNatArchives

[History First @History_1st]

(PS-it's a wild story) 🤵👰‍♂️

[History First @History_1st]

Happy Valentine's Day! 💕 Is the presidency romantic? Well, eighteen people have married at the White House since the 1800s...but only one president. Can you guess who?

https://t.co/FIEJkbOdY6