The LOC.GOV Wise Guide : Let's Get Interactive!

Last year's "Churchill and the Great Republic" was one of the Library's most popular exhibitions. It is now available online in a special interactive presentation narrated by the exhibition's curator, Daun van Ee of the Library's Manuscript Division.

Visitors to the site can view the exhibition according to a "Timeline," "Themes" or "Objects," which organizes items in the exhibition by format, such as letters and telegrams, speech typescripts, photographs or maps.

"Churchill and the Great Republic" draws on the unparalleled collection of Churchill materials in the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, England. The exhibition also features the remarkable holdings on Churchill and his life in the Library of Congress. A number of items, drawn from the rich, multiformat collections of the Library, are newly uncovered and have never been on view previously.

The exhibition covers Churchill's life and achievements from his birth on Nov. 30, 1874, in Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, to his death on Jan. 24, 1965, in London. Much of the exhibition is devoted to the World War II era, reflecting the pivotal role Churchill played in shaping the events of that critical period in world history.

Dozens of other extraordinary exhibitions are available in the Library's Exhibitions site. If you enjoyed "Churchill," you may also want to view "John Bull and Uncle Sam," which explores 400 years of U.S.-British relations.

A. Winston Churchill, undated. Copyprint. W. Averell Harriman Papers, Manuscript Division. Reproduction information: contact Manuscript Division at http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-mss.html

B. In December 1942, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, acting on a suggestion from Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, sent identical 50-inch, 750-pound globes to Churchill and Roosevelt as Christmas presents. During the World War II, it was especially useful to Roosevelt, Churchill and others for gauging relative distances over water, a crucial factor in allocating scarce shipping resources while planning grand strategy. The copy, displayed here, was originally placed in the Speaker's Lobby of the House Chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building. From "The President's Globe" by Arthur H. Robinson in Imago Mundi: The International Journal for The History of Cartography, Vol. 49. London: Imago Mundi, Ltd., 1997. Reproduction information: Not available for reproduction.