Mary Ann Hall purchased a home in 1840 on land where the National Museum of the American Indian is today. Her three-story home became the site of a high end brothel for the District. Archaeologists excavated fragments of champagne bottles, oyster…
Henry was a noted scientist in the United States when he was selected to serve as the first Secretary, or chief executive officer, of the new Smithsonian Institution in 1846. He served for 30 years, developing the new museum as a center for research,…
James Hoban was an Irish-born architect who won a competition in 1792 to design the home of the President. He moved from South Carolina to Washington, DC, to oversee the construction of his design. A neo-classicist, Hoban's design influenced the…
General Joseph Hooker commanded the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Though he served throughout the war, reaching the rank of Major General, he is most remembered for suffering a major defeat at the Battle of…
Diana lived with her father and stepmother at the White House from 1940-1943, when her father, Harry Hopkins, served as a close adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Diana participated in the Easter Egg Roll each year that she lived in the…
William Temple Hornaday was a hunter, taxidermist, zoo director, and a founder of the American conservation movement. He served as Chief Taxidermist of the United States National Museum from 1882, Curator of the Department of Living Animals, and the…
William Hushka, an immigrant from Lithuania, was a World War I US Army veteran who joined the 1932 Bonus Marchers in their campaign to secure early payment of veterans' pensions from the government. Along with fellow veteran and marcher Eric Carlson,…
Harold L. Ickes was the longest serving Secretary of the Interior to date, holding the post for 13 years from 1933 until 1946. He supported civil rights for African Americans, desegregating the Department of the Interior, including the National…
In May 1968, Jesse Jackson and other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) gathered in Washington, DC, to draw attention to poverty through the Poor Peoples' Campaign. Carrying on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after…
Thomas Jefferson worked with President George Washington to advocate that the nation's capitol be situated on the banks of the Potomac. His sketch of a layout for the federal city is the oldest known plan of Washington, DC, and he shared his ideas…
