Author: Matthew Gibson

Director of Digital Initiatives and Editor of Encyclopedia Virginia at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
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A Matter of Dates

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

I received an anonymous comment last night related to our Henry “Box” Brown entry:
The date Henry Brown entered his box was March 29th, not March 23rd as written on this web page.
While one might believe with all credibility that the 29th is the correct date (after all Brown writes in his own narrative that he was shipped on 29 March, 1849 and thus this misstatement is picked up in other discussions and iterations including academic articles), evidence from primary documents contemporary to the escape actually supports the 23rd. Read more about: A Matter of Dates

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History in 140 characters (or less) …

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

For all you tweeters out there, you can now check us out on twitter at the @encyclopediaVA handle. Although we’ve been on twitter for a little while, we are just now starting to use it to send timely content about Virginia’s history and culture. Because of the flexibility of our content, we’re using the Twitter API to repurpose our timeline content (e.g. Read more about: History in 140 characters (or less) …

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Payying Attention

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

If you look at our blog entries individually, you will see a “Welcome to reader-supported content” balloon toward the bottom of the page but above the comment box. This balloon and the badge underneath is part of a “micro-patronage” system that is currently under development to help content providers (newspapers, blogs, etc.) earn revenue so that they can continue to create and publish what their communities value: quality content (e.g., journalism, random thoughts about the universe, niche markets, pretty much anything that user communities value online). Read more about: Payying Attention

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Fifty Years Ago Today, a Massive Resistance

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

When one considers the term massive–or “collective”–resistance, we might try and channel Thoreauian idealism and think of a movement by a downtrodden people to subvert or protest a tyrannical status quo. In the case of Virginia history, however,  “Massive Resistance” was anything but a subversive movement for high moral principles. Massive Resistance was the political–and social–policy set forth by Senator Harry Byrd to effectively block the 1954 U.S. Read more about: Fifty Years Ago Today, a Massive Resistance

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In the beginning …

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

of Encyclopedia Virginia there was Andrew Chancey [pronounced ‘An-drëw Chän-see’; aka VFH Director of Planning and Management and Executive Editor of Encyclopedia Virginia]. Andrew–known as “Andy” to his friends outside the office–came to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities over eight years ago. He rose in the VFH ranks quickly, going from a half-time employee to the high-powered administrative position mysteriously called “Director of Planning and Management.” Read more about: In the beginning …

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See what happens when you are on Encyclopedia Virginia's Editorial Advisory Board?

Author: Matthew GibsonPublished:

First it was Ed Ayers. Soon after he joined Encyclopedia Virginia‘s Editorial Advisory Board he was named the ninth president of the University of Richmond.
Then it was Sandy Treadway. On July 1, 2007 she became the Librarian of Virginia after unanimous appointment.
And we recently received more good news: yesterday Paul Levengood, another stalwart member of our Editorial Advisory Board, was unanimously elected to succeed Dr. Read more about: See what happens when you are on Encyclopedia Virginia's Editorial Advisory Board?

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