Edward “Duke” Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death in a career spanning over 50 years. Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward, and gained a national profile through his orchestra’s appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Often collaborating with others, Ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, with many of his works having become standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and charisma, Ellington is considered to have elevated the perception of jazz as an art form. His reputation continued to rise after he died, and he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for music in 1999.
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837). He was born in the Waxhaws region between North Carolina and South Carolina. A lawyer and a landowner, he owned hundreds of slaves who worked on the Hermitage Plantation. Jackson became a national war hero after defeating the British in New Orleans during the War of 1812. In response to conflict with the Seminole in Spanish Florida, he invaded the territory in 1818. This led directly to the First Seminole War and the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, which formally transferred Florida from Spain to the United States. Known as the “people’s president,” Jackson destroyed the Second Bank of the United States, founded the Democratic Party and supported individual liberty. He is also known for having signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which resulted in the forced migration of Native Americans in the South to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father of the United States, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation’s financial system, the founder of the Federalist Party, the father of the United States Coast Guard and the founder of The New York Post. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of the George Washington administration. Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 (or 1757) in the British West Indies in the Caribbean. He died on July 12, 1804, following a famous pistol duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, his political rival, in which he was mortally wounded.
Note: Since the beginning of the American Civil War, Hamilton has been depicted on more denominations of U.S. currency than anyone else. He has appeared on the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $1,000. His portrait has continued to appear on U.S. postage and currency, and most notably appears on the modern $10 bill.
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States (1913-1921) and leader of the Progressive Movement. To date the only U.S. President to have held a Ph.D., he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910. Wilson induced a conservative Democratic Congress to pass a progressive legislative agenda, unparalleled until the New Deal in 1933. This included the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax. Wilson’s second term was dominated by American entry into World War I. For his sponsorship of the League of Nations, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. Wilson has consistently been ranked by scholars and the public as one of the top 10 presidents. He was born on this day in 1856 and died on February 3, 1924.
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877) following his successful role as a general in the second half of the Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military, ending with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. As president, Grant led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate all vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery. Upset over uncontrolled violence in the South and wanting to protect African-American citizenship, Grant effectively destroyed the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. Grant’s two terms as president stabilized the nation after the Civil War and during the turbulent Reconstruction Era that followed. Historians until recently have rated Grant’s presidency poorly, but his reputation has significantly improved because of greater appreciation for his foreign policy and civil rights achievements. His presidential accomplishments include avoiding war with Britain and Spain, the Fifteenth Amendment, prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan, enforcement of voting rights and his Native American Peace Policy.
Helen Keller is an American author and political activist. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller’s teacher broke through the isolation and helped her learn to communicate is the basis for the play and film The Miracle Worker. A prolific author, Keller was outspoken in her opposition to war and campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights and socialism.
Helen Keller is one of a trio of American women activists (along with Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman) that recently appeared to my girlfriend in a dream.
A prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women’s rights movement to introduce women’s suffrage into the United States. She was one of the important advocates in leading the way for women’s rights to be acknowledged and instituted in the American government. She died on this day in 1906 at age 86.
The dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He was the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789-1797). Washington is universally regarded as the “Father of his Country.” He died on this day in 1799.
Note: This completes my 8-bit Mount Rushmore series. So far, I have drawn nine of the 43 U.S. presidents.
A Lemhi Shoshonewoman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States between 1804 and 1806. She either died in 1812 (historical research) or 1884 (oral tradition). Since 2000, there has been a golden dollar coin minted each year with her image (it’s almost like real money).
The 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the U.S. during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. FDR was the only American president elected to more than two terms. Despite being bound to a wheelchair, the extent of his paralytic illness was kept from public view.
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated in 1886. The robed female figure represents Libertas, a Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty. The statue, a gift from France, has become an icon of freedom and of the United States. Happy Fourth of July!
P.S. From the mouth of the sculptor himself: “America is an adorable woman chewing tobacco.” – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Helen Keller – No. 376
Helen Keller is an American author and political activist. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller’s teacher broke through the isolation and helped her learn to communicate is the basis for the play and film The Miracle Worker. A prolific author, Keller was outspoken in her opposition to war and campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights and socialism.
Helen Keller is one of a trio of American women activists (along with Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman) that recently appeared to my girlfriend in a dream.