Over the course of her 60-year career, Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) became known to fans and colleagues as "The First Lady of Song." Her rise to international fame as a jazz and popular singer coincided with the rise of an American entertainment industry that brought music to millions through conc

On February 1, 1960, four African American college students--Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond--sat down at this "whites only" lunch counter at the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service.

Part of a Pullman porter's job was to make up the sleeping berths in his assigned sleeping car, and to provide extra blankets to passengers requesting them. The standard Pullman blanket in the 20th century was dyed a salmon color, which became almost a trademark of the company. When a blanket bec

General Information: Commemorative coin made by the US Mint for Breast Cancer Awareness. Coin is gold with a pink hue. This is the first gold coin with a pink hue that the U.S. Mint has issued.This commemorative coin was minted by the United States Mint for a fundraising program for the Breast Cance

The bread tin was designed to keep the doughboy's ration of hard bread dry; earlier bread rations were packaged in cardboard containers which became soggy and ruined the contents.    

The Quakers published this booklet titled "El Obrero y sus Derechos" in 1981. The 23-page Spanish language booklet uses cartoons to inform and instruct workers on their rights and where to go for help. It covers a wide variety of occupations (apparel, agriculture, construction, car washing, etc.) Th

Edwin McMillan shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn Seaborg. McMillan discovered element 93, or neptunium, in 1940 while working on the world's largest cyclotron at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Seaborg's discovery of element 94, or plutonium, was based on McMillan's

Explore jazz through listening activities, interviews with musicians, and background information on SmithsonianJazz.org. Prominently featured on this site are two suites of learning activities: one focusing on Duke Ellington for elementary students and one focusing on Louis Armstrong for middle a

This upright transposing piano was made in 1940 by Weser Brothers, New York, for Irving Berlin (1888–1989). Like many Tin Pan Alley pianists, Berlin was self-taught, preferring to play on the black keys. “The key of C,” he once said, “is for people who study music”. The transposing mech

This is a Bata Cubana, or Cuban Rumba dress, donated to the Smithsonian by Celia Cruz, the great Cuban salsa singer in 1997. An adaptation of the traditional Cuban rumba dress, it was made in the United States by Cuban-born designer José Arteaga. The Bata Cubana has its roots in the 19th century