Bentley Historical Library

News Stories

  • Man with white hair wearing a dark suit coat sits at a table.

    Researching the American Experience

    A gift from alumnus Tom Jones will fund undergraduate research and encourage engaged learning.

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  • Writing Aunt Lulu

    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. Her five scrapbooks of correspondence, photos, and mementos are preserved at the Bentley Historical Library.

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  • Five Moments that Shaped U-M

    A meeting in fire-razed Detroit. Two physicists on an Ann Arbor lawn. A lone woman in a Greek class in 1866. A protest at the president’s house. The fight for gay rights. Here are five of the moments and movements that altered the course of Michigan history, and the Bentley collections that tell the story.

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  • Behind the Camera in Detroit and Beyond

    Filmmaker Sue Marx has Emmys and an Academy Award to her name, and as her new collection at the Bentley shows, she’s never forgotten her roots in Detroit or the truth about what makes a good story. Read more about Marx’s pioneering career and her incredible contribution to the Bentley.

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  • Negotiating Angell

    Though lauded as one of the most influential presidents ever to helm U-M, James B. Angell was not keen on Michigan at first. It took two years, three offers, and a barrage of letters, telegrams, queries, and concessions to lure the beloved ‘Prexy’ to Ann Arbor. Newly digitized papers at the Bentley tell the story.

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  • Angell in the 21st Century

    The newly digitized papers of U-M President James Angell showcase how he built and strengthened the University—hiring modern research faculty like philosopher John Dewey, economist Henry Carter Adams, and chemist Moses Gomberg—and served as an important adviser to other higher education leaders around the country.

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  • Spring 2019 Collections Magazine

    A pioneering campus activist in the #BBUM movement. Environmentalists who worked to save Michigan before anyone had heard of Earth Day. Photos of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. A critical moment in Detroit’s history. Read about all this and more in the latest issue of Collections magazine.

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