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Learn about the Inclusive History Project's efforts to document and share the full history of U-M across more than 200 years, and its ongoing impact, with the latest annual report from the IHP.
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Gertrude Buck earned U-M’s first rhetoric Ph.D. The archives reveal how she used writing & teaching to break barriers for women, laying groundwork for today’s feminist rhetoric.
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Our new website is coming soon! ⭐
We’re excited to share that our new and improved Bentley Historical Library site will launch on July 16, 2026, featuring:
🔎 Even more ways to discover Michigan history
📖 Additional resources and help for researchers
🎨 A better design and a fresh, new look
Stay tuned, we can’t wait to share it with you!
#Update #NewWebsite #ComingSoon
This photo of U-M`s Burton Memorial Tower was taken #OTD in 1937!
The bell tower itself was brand new at the time! It was dedicated just one year before this picture was snapped.
Named in honor of U-M`s former president Marion Burton, this tower was built to house a large and remarkable set of bells known as the Baird Carillon.
Those bells were named for U-M`s first Athletic Director Charles Baird, who gave them to the university. The largest bell weighs 12 tons!
The music of these bells has been enjoyed by many generations of students in Ann Arbor, and the clappers of the bells are getting an important upgrade this summer. The bell tower itself turns 90 this year! 🎉
You can find this photo and others like it in the digitized Ivory Photograph collection from the Bentley, hosted online by U-M`s Library. You can also learn more about the long history of this building with the Buildings and Grounds Department records, available for anyone to explore in our reading room!
#AnnArbor #UMich #LocalHistory #1930s
#TBT to this early view of Hill Auditorium!
Hill Auditorium was first dedicated on this day over 100 years ago! The ceremony was held on Alumni Day during U-M`s commencement week in 1913, alongside alumni receptions, baseball games, and class reunions.
It began with a bugle call, and included a grand parade! 🎺 According to the Michigan Daily at the time, the Hill Auditorium dedication parade featured “faculty, regents, and distinguished guests” from “universities all over the globe,” followed by hundreds of alumni.
"On either side marched a guard of honor composed of 100 seniors, each carrying a Michigan flag,” the Michigan Daily reported. “Behind came graduating classes attired in caps and gowns and headed by a drum corps."
You can find more historical photos of Hill Auditorium in the archives at the Bentley with collections like the U-M Photograph Vertical Files and the Ivory Photo Collection, both featured here.
Anyone is welcome to visit and view photos like these in our reading room, and you can also explore historical photos of Ann Arbor with the digitized Ivory Photo Collection online!
#OTD #AnnArbor #HillAuditorium
#OnThisDay in 1972, Title IX opened the door for women’s varsity sports at U-M! In honor of the landmark moment when Title IX was signed into law, here’s a look back at U-M women’s athletics in the 1970s.
This was a pivotal time for women’s sports at the University of Michigan. U-M women’s varsity teams for field hockey, volleyball, basketball, synchronized swimming, tennis, and swimming and diving all started in the 1973/74 academic year!
That decade would go on to see the start of women’s varsity teams for gymnastics, golf, softball, track, and cross country. More teams were added as the years went by, including sports such as soccer, rowing, water polo, and lacrosse.
You can learn more about how women’s sports at U-M have changed over time with the article “Equal Footing” by Katie Vloet on the Bentley’s website. This article features our amazing volunteer Alyce Sigler, who was a top U-M athlete when she was a student, and who now researches Title IX in the archives!
Are there any women’s sports at U-M whose history you’d like to know more about? Let us know!
#TitleIX #OTD #1970s #WomensAthletics
