Author Archives: michiganhistory


Michigan History: The Tri-Motor Conquers the South Pole

February 25, 2008 – 10:35 am

1929 Ford Tri-Motor by Fernando Gomes Semedo
Six hours into their flight, the four explorers aboard the Floyd Bennett, a specially equipped Ford Tri-Motor airplane, stared at the mountain range ahead, blocking their way. Veteran pilot Bernt Balchen eased the plane upwards and entered the pass, which proved much narrower than anticipated. At the end of [...]

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Jerry Linengar: Five Months in Space

February 8, 2008 – 9:59 am

Jerry Linenger is one of more than a dozen Michiganians who have been (or still are) astronauts. Born in 1955 in Eastpoint (a Detroit suburb), Linengar graduated from East Detroit High School and earned a degree from Wayne State University. After many years of hard work, schooling and experience in the military, Linengar was accepted [...]

Posted in Articles, Books & Magazines, Detroit, Media, Michigan, Technology & Internet Media, The Michigan Pages: History, The Michigan Pages: History: Magazine | Comments (0)

Michigan History: Jane Johnston Schoolcraft

March 12, 2007 – 7:34 am

March is Women’s History month--a perfect time to recognize one of the state’s earliest multi-cultural authors. Jane Schoolcraft was a skilled 19th century writer, whose accomplishments are overshadowed by her more-famous husband, Henry.
Born in 1800 at Sault Ste Marie, Jane was the third child of the union of an Ojibwa woman and an Irish father. [...]

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Black History Month: Michigan's Own James Earl Jones

February 26, 2007 – 10:07 am

He has one of the most recognizable voices in the entertainment business and it all began with a grapefruit and a dedicated teacher. James Earl Jones was born in Mississippi in 1931. His parents separated before his birth and his grandparents raised him. When Jones was five, his family moved to Michigan and settled in [...]

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Black History Month: Fighting for Equality in Michigan

February 12, 2007 – 10:55 am

During the mid-nineteenth century, Michigan’s African American population was quite small in number. In 1860, about 7,000 blacks lived in Michigan-less than 1 percent of the state’s population. Although white Michiganians supported the destruction of slavery that came with the end of the Civil War, most were unenthusiastic about giving blacks equal rights. Three years [...]

Posted in Articles, Community, Government, History & Libraries, Michigan, Schools & Education, The Michigan Pages: History: Black History, The Michigan Pages: History: Magazine | Comments (0)

Michigan History: St. Joseph - Wedding Capital, U.S.A.

January 25, 2007 – 8:41 am

fountain in the woods by catzinahat
Las Vegas boasts that it is America's "wedding capital." Yet, in the early years of the twentieth century, Michigan, especially the Lake Michigan town of St. Joseph, was the "wedding capital of the Midwest." Michigan marriage laws did not require residency, allowed people to marry at the age of 18 [...]

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