History

Eli Whitney

joe bodego
In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process...
History

Junius George Groves

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Born in slavery on April 12, 1859, in Louisville, Kentucky, Junius George Groves came to Kansas at the age of 19 as an Exoduster. He...
Civil RightsHistory

Recy Taylor

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Recy Taylor was a 24-year-old sharecropper who was gang-raped in September 1944 in Abbeville, Alabama. Her attackers were local white teenagers who were never indicted,...
Performance

Solomon Burke

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Solomon Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues performer and songwriter who, despite only...
Performance

Luther Vandross

joe bodego
In 1981, Luther Vandross released his debut album, Never Too Much, which sold more than a million copies. Though Vandross was a major R&B phenomenon,...
HistoryPolitics

Ulysses Grant

joe bodego
Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877....