Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Today we remember Bob Newhart, the quietly revolutionary comedian who kept Americans laughing over eight decades as a stand-up comic, recording artist, and actor in film and television. Newhart’s square, mild-mannered persona and genial, stammering delivery concealed an often sly, smart, and subversive form of satire. While perhaps best remembered for his long-running sitcoms The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978) and Newhart (1982-1990), Newhart broke new ground for comedy albums. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became the first comedy LP ever to hit number one on the Billboard charts, won a remarkable three Grammys, including 1960 Album of the Year, and only Best New Artist Grammy awarded to a comedian. In 2023, Newhart generously donated his 1960 Best New Album Grammy and the original typescript of his legendary “Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue” routine to the National Museum of American History. 📷: Westbury Music Fair playbill featuring Bob Newhart and Anthony Newley, 1977 📷: Grammy Award trophy for the 1960 Album of the Year award, given to Bob Newhart for his comedy record “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.” 📷: (Photos 3-5) Typescript for the Bob Newhart comedy routine "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue.”

We remember activist, singer, songwriter, and scholar Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, who spent her lifetime using the power of music to fight for freedom and justice. As a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s (SNCC) Freedom Singers in 1962, Reagon performed across the country, raising funds for the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to recording several solo albums (some with our Smithsonian Folkways Recordings), she founded the Grammy-nominated all-Black women’s a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1973. As a curator and historian at the Smithsonian, Reagon explored how Black music fueled movements for change. In 1974, she joined the Smithsonian’s Division of Performing Arts, where she was instrumental in establishing the African Diaspora program and recruiting Black artists to participate in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage). Two years later, she founded the Program in Black American Culture at our Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Reagon continued her work as curator emeritus and helped shape our Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture as a member of the museum’s Scholarly Advisory Committee. “Bernice’s fierce intellect was only matched by her fierce sense of justice she applied to the struggle for civil rights,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III. “As a member of the NMAAHC Scholarly Advisory Council, her wisdom was invaluable in creating the intellectual framework of the museum. Her lyrics and music lift my spirits and embody her lifelong work to challenge America to live up to its ideals: ‘We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes.’” We will miss Dr. Reagon and send our heartfelt condolences to her family and community. 📷 : Photograph by Dane A. Penland, 1981, from our Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA).

Happy National Hot Dog Day! This Oscar Mayer-sponsored pin, featuring the iconic “Wienermobile,” was created for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games. Olympic pin collecting began as early as 1900 and gained momentum at the 1936 games. Through the 1960s, pin trading was on the upswing, but it saw increased attention at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games when sponsor pins became more prevalent. Coca-Cola set up a pin trading area at the Calgary Games in 1988, which gave a boost to the hobby that is still a big part of the Olympic experience today.

True crime fanatics and armchair detectives: this one is for you. Former nurse Lydia Sherman was arrested for murder in 1871...only after all three of her husbands died under suspicious circumstances. This set of arsenic tests performed by Yale professor George Frederick Barker proved that all four of the examined victims—two of her husbands and two children—were poisoned under Sherman’s care. A jury found Sherman, nicknamed the “Derby Poisoner,” guilty, and she was sentenced to life in prison. See these tests and other artifacts that represent various ways in which forensic science has been used in trials over the last 150 years in our Smithsonian National Museum of American History's newest exhibition “Forensic Science on Trial.” s.si.edu/3WpPl52

Join us for the education event of the summer! 🎉 The 2024 Smithsonian National Education Summit is a free three-day conference unlike any other, featuring Smithsonian educators from over 22 museums, research centers, and the National Zoo, in an exciting session line-up. Free registration: https://lnkd.in/guYWJppM

In 1965, the Aerosol Corporation of America, a division of Shulton, Inc. since 1961, launched the “Crazy Foam” line of aerosol children’s bath soaps. The soap was dispensed in shaving cream-style aerosol cans with specially designed plastic caps depicting cartoon-like heads of animals and other figures. With the push of a button, soap would foam out of the beak of a duck, a parrot, or, in this case, a shark! As promised on the can, “Crazy Foam is Crazy! It’s a wonderful foamy soap that bounces, molds, decorates, floats... and “Cleans like Crazy” while you play!” #SharkWeek

Important announcement! **UPDATED** Due to NATO Summit events in the area, please note the following: On Tuesday, July 9, the Museum will be closed to the public. On Wednesday, July 10, the Museum will have rolling opening and exhibition closures throughout the building due to a special event. Please visit our information desk for the most up-to-date information. If arriving before noon, please use the Madison Drive entrance on the National Mall. As always, you may enjoy our digital collection, available 24/7: https://lnkd.in/dtguVe6 Plan your visit: https://lnkd.in/eFW2dbS8

Happy Independence Day! Huge, vibrant, and rich in history, the Star-Spangled Banner is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. Most Americans are familiar with its story, too: it flew over Fort McHenry after the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what would become the national anthem. However, there are some lesser-known facts about this iconic flag. Learn more in our blog: https://s.si.edu/3LaFVUB

The Civil Rights Act turns 60 on July 2, 2024. This landmark legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Where can you learn more about the history of civil rights and the pursuit of equality? Explore sites from National Park Service and objects from Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian National Museum of American History   #CivicSeason is a new American tradition between Juneteenth and July 4, co-created by Gen Z and 500+ history museums and historic sites, to celebrate who we are as a nation, how we got here and where we want to go next. Get started at TheCivicSeason.com.   Photo Credits:  Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., Warren K. Leffler, 1963. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress.   President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., and others look on, Washington, D.C., July 2, 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum; photograph, Cecil Stoughton.    Portrait of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley, 1954. NAACP Records, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress