Texas A&M University - Commerce Libraries Government Documents

"The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted but to the brave."

On this day in 1986, President Ronald Reagan addressed a shocked Nation on the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Read his address in its entirety in the Public Papers of the Presidents on GPO's govinfo: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/ppp/president-40_Reagan,%20Ronald%20W./1986/01!A!January%201%20to%20June%2027,%201986

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

On February 28, 1991, Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm ended. This poster from the GPO Bookstore shows a map of the forces in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm along with photographs of the U.S. Army in action: https://go.usa.gov/xdj7J

On this day in 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt met with coal company owners and unions in an attempt to resolve the Coal Strike of 1902. As is noted in Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Leadership: In Turbulent Times," Roosevelt obtained permission to bring in his stenographer to make a record of the entire meeting. According to a journalist, this was "the first time since the foundation of the Republic" that a verbatim report of a presidential meeting had ever been recorded.

As soon as the conference ended, Roosevelt's staff began typing the meeting notes. The transcript was rushed to the Government Printing Office. GPO produced a small pamphlet containing all that was said. It was described by one journalist as "one of the quickest pieces of work ever turned out" by GPO. The press was given these pamphlets in time to appear in the papers the next morning.