1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [4]
Anderson, “Bloody Bill” (1840–1864) After one of his sisters was killed and another crippled in the collapse of the Kansas City jail in which Union forces held them, Anderson (and 100 men under his command) joined William C. Quantrill’s Confederate raiders in rampaging through Kansas. His most infamous deed was the brutal murder in Centralia, Missouri, of 24 unarmed Union soldiers. When 150 Union cavalrymen gave chase, Anderson and his gang ambushed them, killing and scalping 116, then cutting off noses and ears as souvenirs.
Anderson, Marion (1897–1993) Born in Philadelphia, Anderson earned fame in the black community as a church singer. She went on to study classical voice, and performed in opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe, only to be turned down in 1939 by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when she sought to perform at Washington, D.C.’s DAR-owned Constitution Hall. Eleanor Roosevelt promptly resigned from the DAR, and persuaded Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to arrange a free outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson performed on Easter Sunday to an audience of 75,000.
Anthony, Susan B. (1820–1906) Born into a politically and socially progressive Quaker family, Anthony became deeply committed to the abolition movement before the Civil War. She was also active in the temperance movement and then in the cause of women’s suffrage after meeting Amelia Bloomer and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Rebuffed in 1852 when she attempted to speak at a male-dominated temperance meeting in Albany, she immediately organized a rival Woman’s New York State Temperance Society and used the organization to campaign for women’s rights.
Armour, Philip (1832–1901) A Chicago meat packer, Armour innovated mass slaughtering and butchering techniques, recycled waste products, perfected the canning of meat, and pioneered the use of refrigerated transportation—even exporting meat to Europe. He used his enormous profits for philanthropy, founding in Chicago the Armour Mission and the Armour Institute of Technology, later called the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Armstrong, Louis (1901–1971) Born poor in New Orleans, trumpeter and vocalist Armstrong was one of the jazz pioneers who brought the music up North—and to the world at large. He transformed jazz from band music to a popular art form suited to intense and exuberant solo expression.
Armstrong, Neil (1930– ) Ohio-born Armstrong got his pilot’s license at age 16 and went on to become a naval aviator with an academic background in aeronautical engineering. He flew in the Korean War (earning three Air Medals) and in 1962 joined the U.S. space program. On July 16, 1969, Armstrong (with Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins) ascended in Apollo 11 and, four days later, at 4:18 p.m. (EDT), Armstrong piloted the lunar landing module Eagle to the moon’s surface. At 10:56 p.m. (EDT), July 20, 1969, he descended Eagle’s ladder, planted his foot in the lunar dust, and broadcasted: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Arnold, Benedict (1741–1801) Born in Norwich, Connecticut, Arnold served as a teenager in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and, during the American Revolution (1775–1783), compiled a brilliant combat record, but became embittered when he was passed over for promotion. In 1779, he married Margaret Shippen, the daughter of a prominent Philadelphia Loyalist. Accustomed to affluence, his bride encouraged Arnold to spend freely, and he was soon buried in debt. Arnold saw the British as a means of gaining both military promotion and ready cash. He offered them the plans of Patriot fortifications at West Point, New York. After his treachery was discovered, Arnold was commissioned a brigadier general in the British army and caused havoc in Virginia