Past Stories

Sarah Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Civil War. Things got more complicated when she fell in love with a fellow soldier.

The Bentley is part of a new effort to examine Philippine materials across campus and take the necessary steps to repair damage to Filipino communities and people.

A 1936 master’s thesis written by Claude Shannon changed the computing world overnight. Collections from the Bentley archive show how the genius idea grew from a revamped engineering campus and one elective class.

One voice says, “Things were different here”; the other voice says, “The origins of the present will be found here.” Both are actually true.

The now-famous librarian to J.P. Morgan wrote often to the director of U-M’s library. Their correspondence reveals mutual respect, admiration—and benefit.

For nearly 20 years, James Tobin has been writing about the University’s history. We sat down with him to talk about research, collections, and even finding love at the library. 

A historian and an artist team up to create a comic book celebrating Michigan’s first-ever Pride celebration.

Jean Fairfax's story emerges as part of the Bentley's new long-term project on this history of African Americans at the University of Michigan.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women fought to study the stars just like their male colleagues. The Detroit Observatory was training ground for four unparalleled women astronomers.

After copper miners went on strike in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 1913, violence wasn’t far behind. Documents at the Bentley reveal multiple sides of a terrible conflict.