1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [119]
Soto, Hernando de (circa 1496/97–1542) This Spanish explorer and conquistador was one of the conquerors of Central America and Peru, then ventured into the region that is now the southeastern United States. He explored Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee, reaching the Mississippi River (at present-day Memphis) on May 21, 1541—the first white man to do so. Stricken by fever here, Soto was buried on the river’s bank.
Sousa, John Philip (1854–1932) The son of Portuguese and German immigrants, Sousa enlisted in the U.S. Marines as an apprentice in the Marine Band and by 1880 was bandmaster. He left the Corps in 1892 to form his own band and became the most famous and sought-after bandleader in the world. Sousa composed 136 military marches, including “Semper Fidelis” (1888), which became the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps, “The Washington Post” (1889), “The Liberty Bell” (1893), and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897).
Spaatz, Carl “Tooey” (1891–1974) A combat pilot in World War I, Spaatz became commander of the 8th Air Force in World War II, in charge of the great U.S. strategic bombing offensive against German-occupied Europe. During 1944, he was commander of U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe. After the war ended in that theater, he moved to the Pacific and directed strategic bombing there. Following World War II, he was named chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, when it was created as a service independent from the army in 1947.
Spielberg, Steven (1947– ) Spielberg was obsessed with film all his life and began directing in the early 1970s. His breakthrough was the masterpiece thriller Jaws (1957), one of the most profitable films ever produced. Jaws, like many of Spielberg’s subsequent successes, was the story of an ordinary man confronting the extraordinary—in this case, a killer shark; in the case of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), it was extraterrestrials. In his later career, Spielberg reached beyond the adventure and science fiction genres with such films as Schindler’s List (1993)—about the Holocaust—and Saving Private Ryan (1998), set against the events of D-Day.
Speck, Richard Franklin (1941–1991) On July 14, 1966, drifter and sometime merchant marine Speck methodically beat, raped, and murdered eight student nurses in their shared apartment on Chicago’s South Side. The senseless brutality of the crime shocked and haunted the nation at a time when many complained about the “sickness” of society.
Spock, Benjamin (1903–1998) In 1946, Dr. Spock published the first edition of Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (which went through six editions by 1992), destined to be the ubiquitous bible of child rearing. Spock’s loving, commonsense approach to raising children influenced generations. During the 1960s, Spock became a high-profile opponent of the Vietnam War and was even convicted in 1968 of counseling draft evasion; the conviction was overturned.
Squanto (died 1622) Squanto, whose Native name was Tisquantum, was an English-speaking Pawtuxet Indian whom Samoset (the first Indian to make contact with the newly arrived Pilgrims) introduced to the Plymouth colony. Squanto became the Pilgrims’ key Indian emissary and guide.
Standish, Myles (or Miles) (circa 1584–1656) Standish was an English military officer who served as the strong military leader of the Plymouth colony. He was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1858 poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish,” which relates the apocryphal story of his asking fellow colonist John Alden to propose marriage on his behalf to Priscilla Mullins—who replied, “Speak for yourself, John” and married Alden instead.
Stanford, Leland (1824–1893) Stanford was a merchant who