Photographer Ansel Easton Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. Adams was one of America’s most famous photographers, known for his photographs of American landscapes, which helped promote environmental and conservation causes.
On February 17, 1895, The Yellow Kid comic strip was first printed in the New York World. It was one of the first consistent Sunday comic strips, influenced the style of future comics, and was the namesake of “yellow journalism!”
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri.
Artist Ruth Aiko Asawa was born on January 24, 1926, in Norwalk, California.
Opera singer Rosa (Ponzillo) Ponselle was born on January 22, 1897, in Meridan, Connecticut.
On January 18, 1944, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosted its first-ever jazz concert, which raised money for the war effort.
On January 13, 1864, Stephen Foster, the “father of American music,” died in New York City.
On January 5, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed legislation authorizing the creation of America’s first space shuttle, the “world’s first reusable spacecraft.”
Author, director, and producer Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was born on January 2, 1884, in Metropolis, Illinois.