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Pursuing the study of tropical diseases, Gorrie moved to Apalachicola, Florida, a large cotton market on the Gulf coast. With remarkable foresight and without knowledge of microbiology, he urged draining the swamps and sleeping under mosquito netting to prevent disease. He also advocated the cooling of sickrooms to reduce fever and to make the patient more comfortable. For this he cooled rooms with ice in a basin suspended from the ceiling. Cool air, being heavier, flowed down across the patient and though an opening near the floor. Since ice had to be brought by boat from the northern lakes, …
This statue of John Gorrie was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Florida in 1914. A physician, scientist, inventor and humanitarian, Gorrie is considered the father of refrigeration and air-conditioning.
Art
Tree Details The sequoia is the largest living tree species. This tree is one of three growing on the Capitol grounds and is well dislocated from its natural range in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It prefers cool summers and moist, but well drained, soil conditions that do not exist in the Washington region. …
Common Name: Giant Sequoia Botanical Name: Sequoia gigantea Planted: May 25, 1966 Sponsor: Cherokee Indian Nation (Ga.) Honoree Details Cherokee Chief Sequoyah is credited with taking the traditional spoken word and developing a written language. The chief is rendered in a bronze plaque in the
Person
His symmetrical design incorporated park-like edging, low walls , lamps, careful placement of trees and simple shrubs, and a series of curved walkways that afforded attractive views of the Capitol. Olmsted later added a brick summerhouse to his design to provide visitors with a drinking fountain and a cool place to rest. The most ambitious aspect of the plan was a new marble terrace that wrapped around the north, south and west facades. Judging the current earthen terrace unacceptable, Olmsted's new design provided a strong visual foundation for the building and additional space for committee rooms and …
Regarded as the founder of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is best known for designing the grounds of New York City's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
Art
On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Congress unveiled a marker to commemorate the important role played by laborers, including enslaved African Americans, in building the United States Capitol. Their contributions were essential for the constructing what would later become known as the Temple of Liberty.
Person
On December 9, 2019, J. Brett Blanton was nominated to serve as the 12th Architect of the Capitol. On December 20, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed Mr. Blanton, and on January 16, 2020, he was sworn in as Architect of the Capitol by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. In his role as
Art
Gathered around them are the men, women, and children going on the voyage. Some are dressed in traditional puritan attire while others wear more fanciful and bright garments. The armor, helmet, and musket in the foreground represent the tools that the Pilgrims will use for protection in the new and unfamiliar land. In the background on the right are the city and people the Pilgrims leave, and on the left a rainbow represents the hope and promise of what lies ahead. Embarkation of the Pilgrims is Robert Weir's most famous work. Initially, …
This painting depicts the Pilgrims on the deck of the ship Speedwell on July 22, 1620, before they departed from Delfs Haven, Holland, for North America, where they sought religious freedom.
Art
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who worked at his country's legation in Budapest during World War II and used his diplomatic status to save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews threatened by the occupying Nazi forces and their Hungarian collaborators. His determination and
Art
It was discovered that that firm was a successor company to the Minton Tile Co. and had even retained many of the original hand tools and forms in a private museum at the company's manufacturing site. Contact was then made with Mr. James Ellis, the Directing Architect of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings for the Crown. He had been trying for many years to establish a program for the replacement of the worn Minton tiles at the …
The richly patterned and colored Minton tile floors are one of the most striking features of the extensions of the United States Capitol. They were first installed in 1856, when Thomas U. Walter was engaged in the design and construction of vast additions to the Capitol (1851-1865). For the floors