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KF5JRV > TODAY 24.12.23 12:04l 28 Lines 2002 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 14585_KF5JRV
Read: DJ6UX GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 24
Path: DB0FHN<DB0BLO<DB0ERF<DK0WUE<DK0WUE<N2NOV<KA1VSC<VE3CGR<KF5JRV
Sent: 231224/1011Z 14585@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.23
A devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including m
ost of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, sold to the institution in 1815.
The Library of Congress was established in 1800, when President John Adams approved legislation that appropriated $5,000 to pur
chase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.ö The first books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801 and were
stored in the U.S. Capitol, the library’s first home. The first library catalog, dated April 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine
maps. Twelve years later, the British army invaded the city of Washington and burned the Capitol, including the 3,000-volume Li
brary of Congress.
Former president Thomas Jefferson, who advocated the expansion of the library during his two terms in office, responded to the
loss by selling his personal library, the largest and finest in the country, to Congress to “recommenceö the library. He called
his collection, which contained a vast assortment of scientific works, an “interesting treasureö that he hoped would have a “n
ational impact.ö Jefferson was a voracious reader who could often be found sitting on the floor of his library at Monticello su
rrounded by as many as 20 open books and newspapers at a time. He studied a variety of subjects, including paleontology, mechan
ics, classical literature, natural history, agriculture, math, chemistry, philosophy and, of course, politics.
After the Civil War, the Library of Congress collection was greatly expanded, and by the 20th century it had become the de fact
o national library of the United States and one of the largest in the world. Today, the collection, housed in three enormous bu
ildings in Washington, contains more than 39 million books, as well as millions of maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio
and video recordings, prints and drawings.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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