National Archives

Archival records and historical records

Search the public U.S. National Archives Catalog for historical records.

Search records

Search records

Search public National Archives Catalog records by keywords, year, material type, and online availability. Results follow catalog relevance order; year filters use catalog matches and may include records dated outside the range.

Your information

PageOptional

Page of matching results, for example 2.

Query

Keywords to find in catalog records, for example Apollo 11.

End YearOptional

Latest year to search, for example 1969.

Start YearOptional

Earliest year to search, for example 1960.

Max ResultsOptional

Number of records per page, for example 20.

Online OnlyOptional

Whether to include only digitized records, for example true.

Record TypeOptional

Material type to include, for example photographs.

1 credit per run

Example results

Records: Records
Image Links Title Date Digitized Record Type Catalog Link Record Group Creating Agency Short Description National Archives Identifier
President Richard Nixon, Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders, and Henry Kissinger Watch the Apollo 13 Command Module "Odyssey" Splash Down on Television
April 17, 1970
Yes
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
catalog.archives.gov
Collection RN-WHPO: White House Photo Office Collection (Nixon Administration)
President (1969-1974 : Nixon). White House Photo Office. 1969-1974; General Services Administration. National Archives and Records Service. Office of Presidential Libraries. Office of Presidential Papers. 1/20/1969-ca. 12/1974
—
34929665
President and Mrs. Johnson and James Webb witness Apollo 11 launch
July 16, 1969
Yes
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
catalog.archives.gov
Collection HST-PHC: Photograph Collection
National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. Harry S. Truman Library. (4/1/1985 - 7/31/2011)
James E. Webb, head of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, leans over to speak to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson during the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Kennedy (Cape Canaveral), Florida. This is a snapshot.
350900580
Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts
July 24, 1969
Yes
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
catalog.archives.gov
Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency
International Communication Agency. (04/01/1978 - 08/24/1982)
—
2679090
Lady Bird Johnson and James Webb at Apollo launch
July 16, 1969
Yes
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
catalog.archives.gov
Collection HST-PHC: Photograph Collection
National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. Harry S. Truman Library. (4/1/1985 - 7/31/2011)
Snapshot showing Lady Bird Johnson (in hat and dark glasses) with James E. Webb, head of NASA, leaning over her shoulder during the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
350900576
Photograph of Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the Moon
July 20, 1969
Yes
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
catalog.archives.gov
Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency
International Communication Agency. (04/01/1978 - 08/24/1982)
—
2581362

Records
Title	Date	Digitized	Record Type	Catalog Link	Record Group	Creating Agency	Short Description	National Archives Identifier
President Richard Nixon, Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders, and Henry Kissinger Watch the Apollo 13 Command Module "Odyssey" Splash Down on Television	April 17, 1970	Yes	Photographs and other Graphic Materials	catalog.archives.gov	Collection RN-WHPO: White House Photo Office Collection (Nixon Administration)	President (1969-1974 : Nixon). White House Photo Office. 1969-1974; General Services Administration. National Archives and Records Service. Office of Presidential Libraries. Office of Presidential Papers. 1/20/1969-ca. 12/1974	—	34929665
President and Mrs. Johnson and James Webb witness Apollo 11 launch	July 16, 1969	Yes	Photographs and other Graphic Materials	catalog.archives.gov	Collection HST-PHC: Photograph Collection	National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. Harry S. Truman Library. (4/1/1985 - 7/31/2011)	James E. Webb, head of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, leans over to speak to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson during the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Kennedy (Cape Canaveral), Florida. This is a snapshot.	350900580
Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts	July 24, 1969	Yes	Photographs and other Graphic Materials	catalog.archives.gov	Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency	International Communication Agency. (04/01/1978 - 08/24/1982)	—	2679090
Lady Bird Johnson and James Webb at Apollo launch	July 16, 1969	Yes	Photographs and other Graphic Materials	catalog.archives.gov	Collection HST-PHC: Photograph Collection	National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. Harry S. Truman Library. (4/1/1985 - 7/31/2011)	Snapshot showing Lady Bird Johnson (in hat and dark glasses) with James E. Webb, head of NASA, leaning over her shoulder during the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.	350900576
Photograph of Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the Moon	July 20, 1969	Yes	Photographs and other Graphic Materials	catalog.archives.gov	Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency	International Communication Agency. (04/01/1978 - 08/24/1982)	—	2581362

Example data · Run in Studio for fresh results.

About National Archives

National Archives (NARA) Search records returns public catalog records matching keywords, with optional year, material type, and digitization filters.

Built by Fous from catalog.archives.gov and checked automatically; it last passed a check on Sep 29, 2026. Fous is not affiliated with National Archives.

Actions

Search records

1 credit per run

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Page`page`	Number	Optional	Page of matching results, for example 2.Example: 2
Query`query`	Text	Required	Keywords to find in catalog records, for example Apollo 11.Example: Apollo 11
End Year`end_year`	Number	Optional	Latest year to search, for example 1969.Example: 1969
Start Year`start_year`	Number	Optional	Earliest year to search, for example 1960.Example: 1960
Max Results`max_results`	Number	Optional	Number of records per page, for example 20.Example: 5
Online Only`online_only`	Yes or no	Optional	Whether to include only digitized records, for example true.Example: Yes
Record Type`record_type`	Text	Optional	Material type to include, for example photographs.Example: Photographs

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Records`records`	List	Matching catalog records in relevance order.
Date`records[].date`	Text	Example: April 17, 1970
Title`records[].title`	Text	Example: President Richard Nixon, Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 8…
Digitized`records[].digitized`	Yes or no	Example: Yes
Image Links`records[].image_links`	List
Record Type`records[].record_type`	Text	Example: Photographs and other Graphic Materials
Catalog Link`records[].catalog_link`	Text	Example: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/34929665
Record Group`records[].record_group`	Text	Example: Collection RN-WHPO: White House Photo Office Collection (Nixon Administration)
Creating Agency`records[].creating_agency`	Text	Example: President (1969-1974 : Nixon). White House Photo Office. 1969-1974; General…
Short Description`records[].short_description`	Text	Example: James E. Webb, head of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, leans…
National Archives Identifier`records[].national_archives_identifier`	Text	Example: 34929665

Example result

For Page: 2, Query: Apollo 11, End Year: 1969, Start Year: 1960, Max Results: 5, Online Only: Yes, Record Type: Photographs

JSON

{
  "records": [
    {
      "date": "April 17, 1970",
      "title": "President Richard Nixon, Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders, and Henry Kissinger Watch the Apollo 13 Command Module \"Odyssey\" Splash Down on Television",
      "digitized": true,
      "image_links": [
        "https://catalog.archives.gov/medialz/presidential-libraries/nixon/194277/BATCH01/37-whpo-3359-07a.jpg"
      ],
      "record_type": "Photographs and other Graphic Materials",
      "catalog_link": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/34929665",
      "record_group": "Collection RN-WHPO: White House Photo Office Collection (Nixon Administration)",
      "creating_agency": "President (1969-1974 : Nixon). White House Photo Office. 1969-1974; General Services Administration. National Archives and Records Service. Office of Presidential Libraries. Office of Presidential Pap…",
      "short_description": null,
      "national_archives_identifier": "34929665"
    },
    {
      "date": "July 16, 1969",
      "title": "President and Mrs. Johnson and James Webb witness Apollo 11 launch",
      "digitized": true,
      "image_links": [
        "https://catalog.archives.gov/medialz/presidential-libraries/truman/photographs/97/97-280.jpg"
      ],
      "record_type": "Photographs and other Graphic Materials",
      "catalog_link": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/350900580",
      "record_group": "Collection HST-PHC: Photograph Collection",
      "creating_agency": "National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. Harry S. Truman Library. (4/1/1985 - 7/31/2011)",
      "short_description": "James E. Webb, head of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, leans over to speak to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson during the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Kenned…",
      "national_archives_identifier": "350900580"
    }
  ]
}

For developers

Run this workflow from your own code. In Studio, turn on Developer mode and create an API key.

cURL

# First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
: "${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example}"

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 120 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@national-archives",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "search_records",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "page": 2,
    "query": "Apollo 11",
    "end_year": 1969,
    "start_year": 1960,
    "max_results": 5,
    "online_only": true,
    "record_type": "photographs"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Find catalog records about a person, event, or topic
Locate digitized records for research
Filter records by year or material type
Review records by title, date, or creating agency

Questions

Is Fous affiliated with National Archives?

No. Fous is not affiliated with National Archives. This workflow reads the public catalog.archives.gov website and returns its data.

How much does it cost?

Each run costs 1 credit. With pay-as-you-go, a credit costs 1¢; monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a National Archives account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from catalog.archives.gov when you run it; repeating the same request within a day may return the saved result. Fous checks this workflow automatically; it last passed a check on Sep 29, 2026.