Subjects – Capitol
The Continental Congress’s ratification of the “Treaty of Paris”
January 14, 1784
The Continental Congress ratified the “Treaty of Paris,” formally concluding the colonies’ war for independence from Great Britain
The resolution to bury President George Washington at the U.S. Capitol
December 23, 1799
Following the death of President George Washington, the House and Senate resolved that “the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under” a marble monument erected “by the United States in the Capitol, at the city of Washington.”
The first time the House met in the North wing of the Capitol
November 17, 1800
On this date, the House assembled for the first time in the North wing of the Capitol.
The burning of the Capitol in 1814
August 24, 1814
In the most devastating blow suffered by the U.S. during the War of 1812, British forces overran the capital city on this date setting fire to most major public buildings, including the U.S. Capitol.
An 1825 Library of Congress fire
December 22, 1825
On this date, the Library of Congress, then located in a room on the west side of the Capitol, caught on fire.
The first House Telegraph Office
June 27, 1853
On this date, President Franklin Pierce approved plans for the new House extension which included the first House Telegraph Office.
The Statue of Freedom
July 12, 1855
On this date, Architect of the Capitol Montgomery C. Meigs received the conceptual drawings from Thomas Crawford, an American neoclassical artist, for the Statue of Freedom.
The Creation of National Statuary Hall
July 02, 1864
On this date, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law legislation designating the Old Hall of the House as National Statuary Hall.
The creation of the Committee on Military Affairs portraits of forts
June 16, 1870
Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark formally asked artist Seth Eastman to decorate the House Committee on Military Affairs hearing room.
Legislative signal bells in the House of Representatives
July 24, 1888
The House of Representatives approved a resolution to add legislative signal bells to the House wing of the Capitol to keep Members informed of House Floor proceedings.
Centennial celebrations of the laying of the Capitol cornerstone in 1793
September 18, 1893
On this date, the federal government celebrated the centennial of the laying of the Capitol cornerstone by President George Washington in 1793.
One of the first efforts by the House of Representatives to preserve its records
June 06, 1900
The House of Representatives took its first step toward the long term preservation of its records, by providing funding for document storage in a general appropriations bill.
The unveiling of the Capitol model
March 31, 1904
On this date, a model of the Capitol, designed to show the building with the East Front extension originally envisioned by architect Thomas U. Walter, was unveiled in the Rotunda.
Early efforts to preserve the records of the House of Representatives
February 21, 1910
The House allocated $2,500 “for the better preservation of early files of the House” by means of H. Res. 403.
Thomas Edison’s Congressional Gold Medal
May 21, 1928
The House of Representatives voted to approve H.J. Res. 243, to award inventor Thomas A. Edison a Congressional Gold Medal.
The 1930 fire near the dome of the Capitol
January 03, 1930
At 7 pm on this date, two Capitol Police officers discovered a fire in the art restoration and modeling room in the Capitol.
The House Committee on the Library’s report on the condition of House Records
June 01, 1937
The House Committee on the Library recommended the “Transfer of Certain Records of House of Representatives to National Archives” (H. Rpt. No. 917, 75th Cong., 1st sess.)
The portrait of Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn of Texas
August 16, 1941
Speaker Sam Rayburn’s portrait by British artist Douglas Chandor was received by the House of Representatives.
The Laying of the East Front Cornerstone
July 04, 1959
On this date, President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid the cornerstone for the long-planned East Front extension of the U.S. Capitol.
Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn’s portrait leaves the “Board of Education”
June 19, 1962
The House moved the portrait of Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas from its longtime home to the Speaker’s Lobby.
Great Britain’s gift of the Magna Carta to the United States
May 26, 1976
A congressional delegation to Great Britain received a gold-embossed reproduction of the Magna Carta in honor of the bicentennial of the United States.