The Briscoe Center for American History is temporarily closed to visitors thru May 1, 2020, along with all other departments and units at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, appointments, events and programs that were scheduled to occur at the center during the spring semester have been cancelled. This policy applies to the center's exhibit spaces, classrooms, reading room, public services and off campus divisions, which include the Briscoe-Garner Museum in Uvalde, the Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham and Winedale in Round Top. Our staff are working remotely and continue to monitor online queries and requests. Updates to this policy will be posted on this page.
Student Emergency Fund
During these difficult times, many students at UT Austin are facing unexpected hardships. Friends of the Briscoe Center can help support students by contributing to UT's Student Emergency Fund, which will be matched dollar for dollar, up to a $2 million total. Give Now
UT's First Pandemic
This is not the first time UT Austin has faced a threat of the magnitude of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. And a review of the University Archives at UT's Briscoe Center for American History reveals fascinating details of a university dealing the best it could with a historic public health crisis-the 1918 global influenza pandemic.
Briscoe Center Acquires the Jerry Cooke Photographic Archive
Thanks to the generosity of Mary Cooke, the Briscoe Center is now home to the photographic archives of renowned documentary and news photographer Jerry Cooke.
The Andy Paris Collection
The Briscoe Center has acquired the collection of Andy Paris, who in 1947 was dubbed "the bubblegum king" by Life magazine. Paris cornered the U.S. market on gum after World War II building a factory in South Texas, and creating a distribution empire across the nation.
The Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss Archives
Award-winning photographers Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss have donated their extensive archives to the Briscoe Center. Their archives illustrate an array of social, cultural, and political currents in American life since the 1950s.
Briscoe Center Acquires Abbie Hoffman Papers
The Briscoe Center for American History has acquired the papers of political activist Abbie Hoffman (1936—1989), which join others at the center related to social and racial justice, anti-war protest and environmental activism, as well as political organization and free speech activities across the ideological spectrum.
