After going bankrupt in 1858 owing to a failed attempt to control a commodities market in San Francisco, Joshua A. Norton proclaimed himself “His Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.” Despite having...

The National Portrait Gallery begins a year of salute to Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, with the opening of “Echoes of Elvis” on January 8, 2010, what would have been Elvis’s seventy-fifth birthday. “Echoes of Elvis” will feature...

A confectioner from Italy, Domingo Ghirardelli established himself as a chocolate merchant in Lima, Peru, before immigrating to California in 1849. Unsuccessful as a miner, Ghirardelli returned to the confectioner’s trade shortly thereafter, opening...

On this, the day before our national feast, it is only right that we make mention of our national entrée, the turkey.  An awkward and delicious fowl, it was one of the favorite subjects of John James Audubon.  Turkeys were also a cheap and plentiful...

Rap star and actor James Todd Smith changed his name to LL Cool J (short for “Ladies Love Cool James”) at sixteen, when he released his first single, “I Need a Beat.” In the late 1980s, the success of his recordings helped make Def Jam a major...