Harlem Renaissance and 1920s Cultural Icons: Jazz, Politics, and Innovation

Louis Armstrong

His improvisations were legendary; made jazz music widely popular to both black and white audiences.

Bessie Smith

One of the highest paid musicians at the time, with a reported salary of over $2000 a week.

Duke Ellington

Gained national renown through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

David Sarnoff

Understood early on the importance and potential of radio broadcasting to entertain and sell.

Charlie Chaplin

Wrote, directed, and composed the music for most of the silent films he appeared in.

Alice Paul

Major organizer of the women's suffrage movement in the US in 1912.

Margaret Sanger

Challenged laws banning the distribution of contraceptive information.

Jeanette Rankin

She was the first woman elected to Congress, elected to the House of Representatives for Montana in 1916.

Langston Hughes

His poetry won him a scholarship to college.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby secured his place as one of America's most enduring writers.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Best known for her large-format paintings of natural forms, especially flowers and bones.

Calvin Coolidge

Pro-business president said 'the business of America is business.'

Bruce Barton

Most famous adman of the 1920s; one of the first advertisers to use radio for advertising.

Al Capone

Prohibition led to the rise of organized crime and mob activities.

Charles Lindbergh

1927 - first pilot to fly nonstop from NYC to Paris in his plane; 'Spirit of St. Louis.'

Amelia Earhart

In 1928, became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Henry Ford

Started Ford Motor Company in 1903, where he used the assembly line to build cars quickly and at affordable prices.