In his last years, Jelly Roll Morton—pool shark, piano master, storyteller—liked to say that he had “invented” jazz. He hadn’t—no one had—but his claim was more legitimate than most: The recordings he made with his Red Hot Peppers beginning in 1926 demonstrated that New Orleans music could be written down and rehearsed and yet remain authentic jazz.
The world’s most prominent actress risked her career by standing up to one of Hollywood’s mega-studios, proving that behind the beauty was also a very savvy businesswoman.
Rarely has the full story been told about how a famed botanist, a pioneering female journalist, and First Lady Helen Taft battled reluctant bureaucrats to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington.
Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.
Why have thousands of U.S. banks failed over the years? The answers are in our history and politics.
In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln embodied leading in a time of polarization, political disagreement, and differing understandings of reality.