Browse Items (222 total)

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…

Like other places around the country, Virginia saw increased suburban development in the years after World War II, especially around the naval and shipbuilding areas of Hampton Roads and near Washington, D.C. The construction of better roads and…

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. In 1999 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that the ADA prohibits unnecessary segregation of mentally ill or…

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,…

The annual payment of tribute by Virginia's Indians has been a long-standing practice that still occurs today. In 1646, Necotowance, "the King of the Indians" as the English referred to him, signed a treaty to end the third Anglo-Indian War. Annual…

In January 1975, President Gerald Ford established the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. The purpose of the commission was to work in conjunction with the International Women’s Year proposed by the United Nations in…

The Fry-Jefferson map was first published in 1753. It was, at the time, the most comprehensive map of 18th century Virginia. Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson were two of the most successful surveyors in the Virginia colony. They collaborated and…

Thomas West (1576–1618), the twelfth Baron De La Warr, was appointed by King James I in 1606 to be part of the royal council that oversaw the Virginia Company of London. He monitored the situation in the Virginia colony from England and may have…

This photograph shows a deerskin mantle that was believed to have been presented by Paramount Chief Powhatan (whose given name was Wahunsonacock) to Captain Christopher Newport of the Virginia Company in 1608. The mantle is embroidered with shells…

Sebastian Münster (1488–1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and scholar. In 1544, he published Cosmographia, the earliest description of the world written in German, although editions were also published in English, French, Italian, and…