Iconic Presidential Photos

The Presidential Libraries are now on Pinterest.  You’ll find some of the most requested images from the holdings of all 13 Presidential Libraries. 

We’re pinning the historic moments, meetings with world leaders, Air Force One, First Ladies, and much more.  You’ll find a fair share of White House pet pics too. 

Take a look and let us know what else you would like to see!

http://pinterest.com/ourpresidents/

Photos:  Lyndon B. Johnson gives Senator Richard Russell the “Johnson Treatment.” 11/7/63.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower Meeting the Troops Prior to the Normandy Invasion. 6/5/44.

The Big Three — Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference. 2/9/45.

John F. Kennedy points to a reporter at a news conference. 11/20/62.

Gerald R. Ford in the Oval Office. 3/25/75

The Yalta Conference Cloak

The photos of the Big Three at the Yalta Conference are well-known, but have you ever looked closely at what FDR was wearing?

In contrast to the double-breasted coats worn by Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt wore a distinctive wool and velvet cloak during his trip to the Crimea, Ukraine, in February 1945.

The garment is a U.S. Navy regulation officer’s boatcloak.  President Roosevelt’s was made at the Naval Clothing Depot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City in August 1942.  It is a standard officer’s boatcloak, ordered and unaltered for FDR’s use. 

The cloak is designed to be worn during movement by a boat to protect the wearer from the cold and his clothing from the effects of spray. It opens at the front and is fitted with two frogs (knotted lengths of braided cord), which engage to secure the cloak closed. The relative ease with which such a cloak could be put on and taken off made wearing it an attractive alternative to a more conventional garment—especially for someone whose ease of movement was hampered by the effects of polio.

Roosevelt wore similar boatcloaks during other trips he made during his Presidency.  The image of FDR in these cloaks is one of the most enduring of the war years.

Photo Gallery -FDR meets with the Big Three, the Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia during his Yalta Conference Trip

-from the FDR Library

usnatarchives: After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was some doubt that the White House Christmas Tree lighting ceremony would take place at all. The Roosevelts had planned for a “more homey” lighting of the National Christmas tree on December 24 in 1941, and so FDR had directed that the tree be moved from the Ellipse to the White House grounds, just next to the South Lawn Fountain. But with firm backing from the President, the tree-lighting went forward, and thousands came to the White House to share a bright moment of hope during dark and uncertain times. President Roosevelt reminded the audience, “Our strongest weapon against this war is the conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies—more than any other day or any other symbol.” He continued, “Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practise them, we set our faith in human love and in God’s care for us and all men everywhere.” Read the whole story here: http://go.usa.gov/gX8B Image: President Roosevelt, with Churchill to his right, addresses the crowd at the 1941  lighting of the White House Christmas tree. From the FDR Presidential Library.
Pop-upView Separately

usnatarchives:

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was some doubt that the White House Christmas Tree lighting ceremony would take place at all.

The Roosevelts had planned for a “more homey” lighting of the National Christmas tree on December 24 in 1941, and so FDR had directed that the tree be moved from the Ellipse to the White House grounds, just next to the South Lawn Fountain.

But with firm backing from the President, the tree-lighting went forward, and thousands came to the White House to share a bright moment of hope during dark and uncertain times.

President Roosevelt reminded the audience, “Our strongest weapon against this war is the conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies—more than any other day or any other symbol.” He continued, “Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practise them, we set our faith in human love and in God’s care for us and all men everywhere.”

Read the whole story here: http://go.usa.gov/gX8B

Image: President Roosevelt, with Churchill to his right, addresses the crowd at the 1941  lighting of the White House Christmas tree. From the FDR Presidential Library.

Today in 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt met with fellow Allied leaders Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin for the Tehran Conference.  From November 28 to December 1, the Big Three, as they were known, discussed strategy against Germany and Japan.  This included the decision to launch Operation Overlord, the codename for D-Day.

For a glimpse of history in the making, here are two photos from the Tehran Conference in Iran.  The one on the left is a well-known image of the Big Three seated on a porch together.  The image on the right shows the action around them, including a crowd of photographers with spent flash bulbs by their feet.

More on the Tehran Conference from the State Department Office of the Historian

Source: fdrlibrary.marist.edu

Stalin, Truman, and Churchill at the Potsdam Opening, 07/17/1945 The Potsdam Conference was a meeting of the victorious leaders of the Allies in Europe.  Held over two weeks in an unbombed suburb of Berlin, convened from July 17-August 2, 1945. Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and President Truman began the conference for their respective countries. On the agenda was the partitioning of the postwar world and resolving the problems of the war in the Far East. This included the division of Germany; the movement of populations from Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Italy; the creation of a Council of Foreign Ministers to administer the agreed upon zones of occupation; and issuing a proclamation demanding unconditional surrender from the Japanese government. More on the Big Three - from the Truman Library
View Separately

Stalin, Truman, and Churchill at the Potsdam Opening, 07/17/1945

The Potsdam Conference was a meeting of the victorious leaders of the Allies in Europe.  Held over two weeks in an unbombed suburb of Berlin, convened from July 17-August 2, 1945.

Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and President Truman began the conference for their respective countries. On the agenda was the partitioning of the postwar world and resolving the problems of the war in the Far East. This included the division of Germany; the movement of populations from Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Italy; the creation of a Council of Foreign Ministers to administer the agreed upon zones of occupation; and issuing a proclamation demanding unconditional surrender from the Japanese government.

More on the Big Three - from the Truman Library

Source: trumanlibrary.org

Winston Churchill Arrives British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam, Germany for the opening of the Potsdam Conference., 07/17/1945
View Separately

Winston Churchill Arrives

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam, Germany for the opening of the Potsdam Conference., 07/17/1945

Source: research.archives.gov

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces during World War II. In his ongoing discussions with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and with the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, he  steadily pushed for the invasion of the European continent to liberate it from Hitler’s Germany that finally began on D-Day, June 6, 1944. During the 1943 Teheran Conference, Marshall Josef Stalin, the Russian Premier, pressed FDR and Prime Minister Churchill to commit themselves to a definite date for OVERLORD and an invasion of southern France, and to pick a commander in chief for the cross-Channel invasion. One week later, FDR selected General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Pop-upView Separately

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces during World War II. In his ongoing discussions with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and with the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, he  steadily pushed for the invasion of the European continent to liberate it from Hitler’s Germany that finally began on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

During the 1943 Teheran Conference, Marshall Josef Stalin, the Russian Premier, pressed FDR and Prime Minister Churchill to commit themselves to a definite date for OVERLORD and an invasion of southern France, and to pick a commander in chief for the cross-Channel invasion.

One week later, FDR selected General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Source: docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu

66 years ago this month, Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. This telegram, from George Kennan at the United States Embassy to Secretary of State James Byrnes, details the Soviet reaction to the speech a few days later on March 11, 1946.
Pop-upView Separately

66 years ago this month, Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

This telegram, from George Kennan at the United States Embassy to Secretary of State James Byrnes, details the Soviet reaction to the speech a few days later on March 11, 1946.

Source: trumanlibrary.org

scanzen: Winston’s shell. Designer Graham demostrates Winston Churchill’s personal pressure chamber, created to enable him to make high-altitude flights safely. In: Life, 10 Feb 1947. To protect the precious bulk of Winston Churchill in wartime a special one-man pressure chamber was built for the personal plane which carried him many times across the Atlantic and to Casablanca, Moscow and Yalta. Churchill was warned by his doctors that it was dangerous for a man of his age and physical condition to fly above 8,000 feet. The solution was a pressure chamber complete with ash trays, telephone and an air-circulation system good enough to prevent smoke from the ubiquitous cigar from fogging the atmosphere.
Pop-upView Separately

scanzen:

Winston’s shell. Designer Graham demostrates Winston Churchill’s personal pressure chamber, created to enable him to make high-altitude flights safely. In: Life, 10 Feb 1947.

To protect the precious bulk of Winston Churchill in wartime a special one-man pressure chamber was built for the personal plane which carried him many times across the Atlantic and to Casablanca, Moscow and Yalta. Churchill was warned by his doctors that it was dangerous for a man of his age and physical condition to fly above 8,000 feet. The solution was a pressure chamber complete with ash trays, telephone and an air-circulation system good enough to prevent smoke from the ubiquitous cigar from fogging the atmosphere.

(via npr)

Source: scanzen

todaysdocument: Facing severe shortages in the fight against Nazi Germany, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt to find a way for the United States to continue to aid Britain. Introduced with the patriotic bill number “1776” on January 10, 1941, Congress passed this act following two months of debate and it was signed by President Roosevelt on March 11, 1941. The “Lend-Lease” act met Great Britain’s deep need for supplies yet allowed the United States to prepare for war while remaining officially neutral. “H.R. 1776 A Bill Further to promote the defense of the United States and for other purposes.” (Lend-Lease Bill) dated January 10, 1941; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, HR 77A-D13;
View Separately

todaysdocument:

Facing severe shortages in the fight against Nazi Germany, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt to find a way for the United States to continue to aid Britain. Introduced with the patriotic bill number “1776” on January 10, 1941, Congress passed this act following two months of debate and it was signed by President Roosevelt on March 11, 1941. The “Lend-Lease” act met Great Britain’s deep need for supplies yet allowed the United States to prepare for war while remaining officially neutral.

“H.R. 1776 A Bill Further to promote the defense of the United States and for other purposes.” (Lend-Lease Bill) dated January 10, 1941; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, HR 77A-D13;