This Author's Posts
This Author's Posts
Find Out How the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918–19 Affected Your Pennsylvania Ancestors
Does the thought of getting the flu scare you? Maybe not—but it should. Yes, today we have vaccines, antiviral medications, and chicken soup. Even so, CDC statistics show that influenza still kills up to 5,600 people in the United States every year. Imagine, then, what it was like 100 years ago when none of those medical interventions existed.
Friday, 5/17/19 11:55 am
pglennon@hsp.org
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Polio in Pennsylvania
Polio, as infantile paralysis came to be known in the 20th century, has a significant place in the history of Pennsylvania. The commonwealth was hit hard in the large 1916 polio epidemic that affected the northeastern United States. When Dr. Jonas Salk established a virology laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh in 1947, Pennsylvania soon became a major center of research on the poliovirus that led to the first successful vaccine against the disease in 1955.
Wednesday, 5/8/19 3:10 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
Comments: 1 |
Lazaretto Ghost Stories
Everyone says the Lazaretto is haunted. Why wouldn’t it be? It was a quarantine station and hospital for nearly a century. Ships, cargo, sailors, and immigrants were detained there, sick people were treated there, and many died there.
Friday, 5/3/19 2:08 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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In the "Midst of Death"
In 1793, yellow fever devastated Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital. “To see the hearse go by is now so common that we hardly take notice of it;…we live in the midst of death,” wrote the 22-year-old Isaac Heston shortly before contracting the illness and dying.
Tuesday, 4/30/19 3:40 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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Susanna Haswell Rowson: Early America’s Feminist Author
In 1794, the New Theatre in Philadelphia premiered Slaves in Algiers; or A Struggle for Freedom, a play written by the author, lyricist, and actor Susanna Haswell Rowson. The pioneering production—deemed radical by critics—dealt with poignant themes relating to gender and liberty, topics that Rowson explored regularly in her novels.
Friday, 3/22/19 3:01 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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Tips for Researching Your Irish Heritage
Inspired to begin researching your Irish heritage? You’ll need more than luck! Here are a few tips to get you started in your search.
Friday, 3/15/19 2:43 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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The Nation’s First Ad Agency Originated in Philadelphia
In 1869, an enterprising young man in Philadelphia named Francis Wayland Ayer founded N. W. Ayer & Son, a company that would revolutionize the way that businesses communicate with their customers.
Thursday, 3/14/19 12:45 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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The Fiery Fate of Philadelphia’s First Masonic Hall
The Masonic Hall met a grim fate on March 9, 1819. A chimney fire spread into the building and eventually engulfed the entire structure. Residents of New Castle, Delaware purportedly saw the flames from 32 miles away. A lithograph from HSP’s archives depicts the harrowing scene.
Friday, 3/8/19 10:02 am
pglennon@hsp.org
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The Perseverance of Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House
Highlighting Philadelphia’s creative reuse of historical buildings, a major institution from the city’s theater past reopened this past year: the Metropolitan Opera House.
Tuesday, 2/12/19 4:23 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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Vitality Of Immigration Lives On In The Italian Market
By making a home for themselves and thriving in the area, recent immigrants to the Italian Market neighborhood continue a legacy that stretches back to the 19th century.
Tuesday, 1/22/19 12:59 pm
pglennon@hsp.org
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