Past Stories

A class at the University of Michigan uses Bentley materials to teach students about U-M's history of female impersonators.

Michigan’s railroad history comes to life as we choo-choo-choose images from an extraordinary collection.

Writer James Tobin goes deep into the newly arrived Zingerman’s collection to understand how co-founder Ari Weinzweig’s on-paper voice helped a fledgling eatery define itself and stand out.

Michigan’s longest-serving governor was a Republican renowned for reaching across the aisle to Democratic colleagues, and for making Michigan’s environmental health a priority. His collection at the Bentley reveals a breed of politician that’s nearly extinct.

Renowned neuroanatomist Elizabeth Crosby was a brilliant researcher and a dedicated teacher who spoke of her many years at U-M with fondness. So what happened to make her attempt to resign numerous times over the course of her career? Letters in her collection may provide answers.

The newly renovated Michigan Union highlights the remarkable lives of the building's architects, Irving and Allen Pond. But their vision for democratic architecture wasn't fully realized until long after they were gone.

A history professor and her undergraduate research fellows bring fresh eyes to the fraught history of American imperialism in the Philippines.

Alice Chipman Dewey was a philosopher, social reformer, educator, pioneer, and among the earliest women to graduate from U-M. Her incredible legacy has been historically overshadowed by that of her husband, John Dewey, though research and papers at the Bentley are now helping define Alice in her own right.

During World War II, Lulu Middleton wrote letters to service men and women, sending along advice, cookies, candy and ultimately a connection to home in Michigan.

The earliest paintings of U-M's campus have been scanned into the 21st century.