The leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, was born Elijah Poole in 1897 near Sandersville, Georgia.
He took over leadership of the Muslim sect (founded in Detroit in 1930 and commonly known as the Black Muslims) in 1934, expanding its reach and advocating black separatism until his death in 1975.
The New Orleans Opera, which made eight tours to New York and other cities between 1827 and 1845, was America’s first resident opera company. Specializing in French opera, the company’s reputation made New Orleans as synonymous with opera in the 19th century as it was with jazz in the 20th.
Richard M. Nixon’s running mate in 1960 was Henry Cabot Lodge.
Joseph McCarthy represented Wisconsin in the Senate. The Republican senator, famous for his investigations of alleged communists, served in the Senate from 1946 to 1957.
Sir Francis Drake (1545-1596) was the first man to sail around the earth in 1580. His predecessor, Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521), started such a trip but died before the last of his ships finished the voyage.
After World War I, the British Empire, or Commonwealth, covered over 14 million square miles and dominated 450 million people. It encompassed a quarter of the world’s population and land surface. Among the countries under its dominion were: Antigua, Australia, Canada, Ceylon, India, Iraq, Ireland, and Pakistan.
The future mayor of New York City Fiorello La Guardia worked at the immigration center on Ellis Island as an interpreter while attending law school. The Manhattan-born son of an Austrian Jewish mother and Italian father, La Guardia (1882-1947) helped usher immigrants through the center, which served as a port of entry from 1892 to…