Yarmuth represents Kentucky’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now in his eighth term, he has served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee since 2019.

Yarmuth has been recognized for his work to improve education, expand access to affordable health care and for his leadership in enacting the American Rescue Plan, legislation that responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the U.S. economy.

“At its core, everything I’ve done in Congress has been about serving the Louisville community, so I can think of no final act more fitting than turning over this historical record to our flagship university,” Yarmuth said. “In the hands of University of Louisville’s students, faculty and staff, I’m hopeful that my work will continue to serve the community for generations to come.”

“For 16 years, John Yarmuth worked tirelessly to represent the interests of the people of the Third District including the University of Louisville,” said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. “We are thrilled that the documentation of this service will be housed at the University of Louisville for future researchers to draw upon. As he closes out his congressional service, we thank him both for his work on behalf of our district and for this priceless gift to future generations of students, faculty and scholars to be archived at UofL.”

“We are extremely honored to add Rep. Yarmuth’s papers to University Archives and Special Collections,” said Carrie Daniels, UofL university archivist and director of archives and special collections. “His collection represents a wide-ranging documentation of key events over the past 16 years.”

The collection comprises both digital and paper materials, including documentation that traces Yarmuth’s time in the House of Representatives. Included are working drafts of legislation he sponsored, correspondence, recorded interviews and a multitude of other materials that trace his Congressional record. University of Louisville archivist Heather Fox worked closely with the House Archivist at the U.S. House of Representatives to prepare the transfer.

Yarmuth’s contributions to UofL include serving as a visiting professor for several semesters. The Yarmuth family also established the Yarmuth Book Award endowment in 1987 in honor of his father Stanley Yarmuth that awards a book, chosen by a UofL committee, to qualifying high school juniors throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Throughout his tenure in the House, Yarmuth has sponsored legislation or otherwise secured funding that supports research and other programs at UofL. Most recently, in September, he secured $750,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of ����ֱ�� to launch the Robotics and Additive Manufacturing Pathways to SUCCESS program aimed at preparing workers for the automated workplaces of the future that involve collaborative human-machine interfaces and 3D printing.

Born and raised in Louisville, Yarmuth graduated from Atherton High School and Yale University. He and his wife, Cathy, have one son, Aaron; daughter-in-law Sarah, and grandsons J.D. and Rory. His retirement from the U.S. House is effective Jan. 2, 2023.

The Courier Journal – winner of 11 Pulitzer Prizes throughout its 154-year history – and its parent company Gannett have transferred its library of photographs and negatives to UofL Archives and Special Collections.

Members of Louisville’s Bingham family, which owned the newspaper from 1918 to 1986, have made a separate donation to support the collection, including preserving it, preparing it for use by the public, and developing programming to enable the public to engage with it.

Their combined generosity is creating the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection, announced UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. The unique journalistic collection is of local, state and national importance.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Courier Journal, Gannett, Emily Bingham, Molly Bingham and the rest of the Bingham family for making this historic gift possible,” Gonzalez said. “Generations of readers saw these photos in their daily newspaper each morning, and now, future generations will continue to be able to study and appreciate the insight they provide into the history of our city, state, nation and world.”

“This gift will allow the Courier Journal to retain the legacy of our work through this collection of historic photographs,” said Courier Journal Editor Mary Irby-Jones. “It is important for us to preserve and share our work with others so our community can learn about the history of Louisville as captured through our photographers in the field for more than 150 years. The Courier Journal is honored to entrust this priceless archive to the care of the University of Louisville for the purpose of making the collection available to the community for research and scholarship.”

“For most of a decade, it has been our dream to honor our father by finding a permanent, public home for the Courier Journal’s photographic collection,” Emily and Molly Bingham said in a joint statement. “This visual treasure is a testament to his dedication to high quality journalism, his passion for photography, his love of archives and his commitment to public access to information. He is up there somewhere today, smiling and joyfully twirling his trademark handlebar mustache.”

About the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection

The collection, consisting of images created by the photo department that served both the Courier Journal and the afternoon Louisville Times newspapers, chronicles daily happenings and major events from approximately the mid-1930s to the early 2000s when digital photography began to replace the use of film to capture images. The collection doubles the size of UofL’s photo holdings. It might have dated back further, but the Great Flood of 1937 destroyed much of the newspaper’s photo and negative library.

“The collection chronicles the civil rights movement, World War II, the Kentucky Derby through the years, presidential visits, changes in the built environment, and numerous public appearances and behind-the-scenes images of world leaders and celebrities,” said Archives and Special Collections Director Carrie Daniels. “Basically, all of the changes happening within our country were captured in these photographs.”

“It’s an incredible collection,” Elizabeth Reilly, photo archivist, said, “and with any large-scale acquisition like this, it will take years to process, organize and add information to the collection, to make images discoverable and usable by the public.

“A small portion of the collection will be available online, and, as we process the amazing imagery it contains, we will be opening up bigger and bigger parts of the collection to the public, making it accessible to everyone who wants to see it.”

Reilly credited Barry Bingham Jr., the third and last Bingham family member to serve as the paper’s publisher, for his devotion to setting high standards for the photography his newspaper published. The Courier Journal won two Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism during his tenure.

“He was a huge supporter of high-quality photojournalism,” Reilly said. “He grew and improved the quality of photography in the newspaper through investments, hiring talented photojournalists, and giving them time and travel budget to capture visual information beyond the news moment or press release. That commitment to quality is reflected in the collection and adds to its national significance.”

Daniels cited the increase in scholarship and creative potential that the collection will bring to UofL.

“Our Photographic Archives already contain 2-to-3 million historical, documentary and fine art images dating from the 19^th century to today that capture faces, buildings, landscapes and events from around the world, with a focus on Louisville and Kentucky. These images have appeared in scholarly or artistic work, including filmmaker Ken Burns’ documentaries, Dustbowl, Prohibition and Baseball. This dramatically increases our ability to provide images that everyone, including scholars and artists, will be able to use going forward, and we are very excited about that,” she said.

Note: Forty images from the collection have now been digitized and are .

Dr. Tom Owen, archivist in University Libraries for 44 years, has found yet another way to get folks engaged in the city’s past.

This summer, Owen unveiled “,” a new YouTube channel featuring segments on local history. In each short episode, he recounts a bygone tale, often uncovering new information using primary sources and research tools found in .

He promises a new segment each month.

, Owen uncovers a 1960s mystery building near Breckinridge and Hancock streets, while telling the larger story of urban renewal in Louisville. In the , he spins the tumultuous tale of an office building at Chestnut and Liberty where working women and children were swept into a heartbreaking labor strike.

“It’s a great story,” he said, with his characteristic enthusiasm.

Owen said the project is an extension of the kind of work he’s done throughout his career.

“Very early on I stumbled into telling pieces of history, episodic stories, blessed with a notion that for something to be important or a story to be interesting, George Washington did not have to have slept there,” he said. “There’s a story under every rock.”

Owen’s inimitable charm and knack for storytelling has made him a favorite in local media through the years. He’s done a local history series for WHAS, KET and Louisville Public Media. Owen, who is a former Louisville Metro Council member, is also known for his walking history tours of downtown neighborhoods.

All of his work is about using stories to reach people and connect them with their past, he says, which influences the present. Now, he’s using the medium of the moment to do it. YouTube, after all, is cheap, easy and immediate.   

“I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do,” he said.

The interviews focus primarily on Owen’s career in politics, beginning with his first run for elective office – a seat on Louisville’s now defunct Board of Aldermen in 1990 – and concluding with his retirement from the Metro Council at the end of 2016. Louisville filmmaker Morgan C. Atkinson donated the interviews to Archives and Special Collections.

“We would get together probably four times a year to discuss Tom’s views on current affairs, his political life, his legislative agenda as well as quirky odds and ends that seem a special province of Tom’s,” Atkinson said. “I began the work because I’ve always believed Tom plays a unique role in our community – historian, visionary and gadfly.”

The collection totals some 50 hours of conversation and is available to the public at Archives and Special Collections’ research room in the lower level of Ekstrom Library at UofL’s Belknap campus.

“Talking with Tom was always a pleasure,” said Atkinson, who also collaborated with Owen on the six-part video series, “Tom Owen’s Louisville.”

“With every interview I gained insight into Louisville history, a clearer sense of how politics works (and sometimes doesn’t) and a deeper appreciation for what motivates a committed public servant,” he said.

Memorable discussions include “Tom’s role in the Fairness initiatives [anti-discrimination legislation to protect LGBT rights] and his near-miss race for mayor” in 1998, said Atkinson. “I came away from the experience with the same view I had in 1990: the community of Louisville is fortunate to have a citizen activist like Dr. Tom Owen.”

Heather Fox, Co-Director Oral History Center, says Owen is “rightfully considered a local treasure. He makes an invaluable contribution daily to the many patrons of Archives and Special Collections and to his fellow archivists. We are extremely grateful and pleased to accept the gift from Atkinson.”

In May, Owen celebrated 42 years as an Associate Archivist for Regional History with University Libraries.