Past Stories

The Dan Sicko papers at the Bentley spotlight the battle to reclaim Detroit as a cultural contributor and to reveal the real roots of electronic funk.

Who killed Warren Hooper? One of the biggest unsolved murders in Michigan history starts on a frigid day in 1945, and ends in rows of boxes at the Bentley, where there might still be a clue just waiting to be found.

One class mines Bentley archives to investigate the history of campus protests and the origins of U-M’s Trotter House.

Heads almost rolled when students started performing the wave in Michigan Stadium in the early 1980s. An archived memo at the Bentley shows the fury of then Athletic Director Don Canham’s reaction.

Dave Camp, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015, has donated the collected materials from his 24 years in office to the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library.

It was a big deal when the long-haired boys of the House of David baseball team came to town.

One U-M class uncovers lost aspects of Civil Rights history and makes them available online.

Detroit’s Harmonie Club was once the hub of German singing groups, whose music fueled fellowship and cultural pride. When the Harmonie Club went belly up, its historic German music was in danger of being lost forever—but found a safe home at the Bentley.

A U.S.-led effort in 1965 to win over Communist hearts and minds through music landed U-M Jazz Band members in the middle of gunfire in the Dominican Republic. This strange tale of U-M students, concerts, and Red Scare politics is showcased in a new collection at the Bentley, 50 years in the making.