• President Carter Arrives at Camp David to Discuss Iran Hostage Crisis
    Marion S. Trikosko
    Camp David
    travel
    meetings
    crisis & controversy
    This photograph by Marion S. Trikosko captures President Jimmy Carter arriving at Camp David in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland on November 23, 1979. Accompanying President Carter on the helicopter trip from the White House to Camp David was, from left to right, Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance, and Vice President Walter F. Mondale. The group was on hand to meet and discuss the Iran Hostage Crisis, which began earlier that month, on November 4. The hostages would be held for 444 days, until January 20, 1981. Camp David was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, then called Shangri-La, as a presidential retreat. President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the retreat Camp David after his grandson, David Eisenhower.
  • Mrs. Obama Announces the Academy Award for Best Picture
    Pete Souza
    arts & culture
    Ground Floor
    Diplomatic Reception Room
    ceremonies
    merits & awards
    In this photograph by Pete Souza, First Lady Michelle Obama announces the Academy Award winner for Best Picture on February 24, 2013. Her appearance on the live televised Oscar ceremony was filmed in the Diplomatic Reception Room on the Ground Floor of the White House. The winner of Best Picture, "Argo", was a film about the rescue of six United States diplomats who sought safety at the home of the Canadian ambassador to Iran during the 1979 to 1981 Iran Hostage Crisis in Tehran.
  • South Lawn Ceremony for Freed American Hostages
    Unknown
    South Grounds
    South Lawn
    South Portico
    military
    honor guards
    This photograph was taken at a ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of the freed American hostages who were held in Iran. The ceremony, held on January 27, 1981, included a speech by President Ronald Reagan, who was just seven days into his first administration. 66 United States citizens, diplomats, and military personnel were held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran beginning on November 4, 1979 and lasting for 444 days. On January 20, 1981, the remaining 52 hostages still in captivity were finally released.
  • Lieutenant James Earl Carter, Jr.
    Unknown
    portrait
    military
    This portrait photograph of future president Jimmy Carter was taken during his time in the United States Navy. Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. He began his military career as an ensign on a submarine and rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1952 before resigning from the Navy upon the death of his father in 1953. The inscription in the bottom right corner is written to Carter's wife and future first lady Rosalynn Carter. It reads, "Darling, I love you with all my heart - for all my life. Jimmy".
  • President Ford Discusses Aid to Cambodia with Senators and Advisors
    Bruce Dale
    staff of FLOTUS and POTUS
    staff
    West Wing
    Oval Office
    Congress
    In this photograph, taken March 6, 1975 by Bruce Dale, President Gerald R. Ford meets with United States Senators and advisors to discuss aid to Cambodia. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota; Senator Clifford P. Case of New Jersey; Senator John Sparkman of Alabama; John Ortho Marsh, Jr., counselor to the president; Max Friedersdorf, White House assistant for Congressional Relations; Lt. Gen. Brent Snowcroft, deputy assistant to the president for National Security Affairs; and William T. Kendall, deputy assistant for Legislative Affairs. Earlier, Humphrey had served as Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson.