Significant Events
Featured Collection
State Dinners
A State Dinner honoring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch is one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs. It is part of an official State Visit and provides the president and first lady the opportunity to honor the visiting head of state and his or her spouse. In this collection, explore the history of
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Emancipation Day, A Celebration in Washington, D.C.
THE NEGRO CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON The occasion of the celebration, which took place April 19, was the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Two regiments of colored troops and various colored civic associations, with many other colored citizens, assembled in front of the Executive Mansion, making a dense mass of colored faces, relieved here and there by a few
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Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act to end slavery in the District of Columbia and President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law on April 16, 1862. Three years later, after the Civil War ended and after the 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially abolishing slavery nationwide, African Americans in the District began to celebrate April 16 as a holiday.
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Emancipation in the President's Neighborhood, 1850
On April 16, 2012, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, a day of jubilation for the city of Washington's African American community then as it is today. The document that President Abraham Lincoln signed gave broad legal promise to the capital's enslaved persons. However, new research reveals that prior to this historic occasion there were hard-won
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Orphan Becomes White House Steward
The frigate United States left Port Mahone, Minorca, arriving in New York City on December 25, 1834. On board was an orphan boy about seven years of age, Valentino Melah, a native of Messina, Sicily. His fortunes would lead him into the hotel business in Manhattan (the Astor House), New Orleans (the St. Charles), Long Branch, New Jersey (the Stetson), and his
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Days of Destruction: The President's House
After torching the Capitol about 100 British soldiers and sailors headed west down Pennsylvania Avenue with four officers, including Major General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn in ceremonial bicorne hats, riding behind them. At the deserted White House, the hot and exhausted invaders found the table set for 40-50 dinner guests and they took to the food and
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The Life and Presidency of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856. He was the third of four children of Janet Woodrow and Joseph Ruggles Wilson, a Presbyterian minister. He spent his childhood in Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina; graduated from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) in 1879; and attended the University of Virginia Law School. In 1885 he married Ellen Louise
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Japanese State Dinners
Following the close of World War II, Japan and the United States developed a close alliance along with strategic and trade partnerships. Beginning with Gerald R. Ford in November 1974, seven U.S. presidents have made journeys to Japan, and the Japanese heads of state and government have also visited the White House. Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko arrived in