1910s
Charles Curtis: The First U.S. Vice President of Color
TweetShareShareDid you know the Kamala Harris wasn’t the first U.S. Vice President of color? It’s true. That honor goes to Charles Curtis who served as Herbert Hoover’s Vice President between 1929 and 1933. Today this decorated politician is virtually unknown to Americans but Curtis’ legacy is rich and inspiring. He proved the perfect political pick.…
Read MoreBooker T. Washington: The Tuskegee Titan
TweetShareShareHe’s on a very short list of highly influential Black Americans. He was a prolific author, outstanding orator, influential educator and inspiring leader. He was among the last Black American generation born into slavery. His name was Booker T. Washington (1856-1915). Booker was born into slavery in Virginia, sometime in 1856. After Lincoln emancipated the…
Read MoreGeorge Washington Carver: God’s Peanut Man
TweetShareShare“When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” These weren’t just words to George Washington Carver (1864-1943). They were his legacy. Few Americans lived bigger and better lives. Carver was born a slave, but eventually became a botanist, educator, conservationist, and artist.…
Read MoreThe Real Thing: Coke Advertising
TweetShareShareI’ll confess. I’m deeply biased when it comes to my favorite carbonated beverage. If it’s not a Coca-Cola, it’s not a cola. I don’t know if I was born with this affection (some might call it an affliction), but here I am 58 years later still sipping Coke…albeit in more sugar-free varieties. My favorite is…
Read MoreThe Model T Defined an Era
TweetShareShareThe Model T was not Henry Ford’s first car, but it might’ve been his best. Also known as the “Tin Lizzie” or “Leaping Lena” or “Jitney” or “Flivver,” the Model T was the first truly affordable automobile. In 1999, it was honored as the “most influential car of the 20th century.” Manufactured between 1908 and…
Read MoreThe Hindenburg Disaster
TweetShareShare Nobody knew it at the time, but the Hindenberg disaster was the beginning of the end for air travel by blimp. For decades, the rich used blimps to travel to new locales, still somewhat faster than the automobile of that day. But as the airplane–a new air tech–found its wings, old-school blimps no longer…
Read MoreTitanic Sinks!
TweetShareShare The sinking of the Titanic was a huge blow to industrial science and the promise of machines making life faster and better. The Titanic was the fastest and best. It was reputed to be unsinkable, but it still sunk. For the oldest members of the Transportation and Telephone (TNT) Generation–born 1900 to 1920–this tragedy…
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