John Jasper was a noted slave preacher and a community leader in Richmond, Virginia, following the Civil War. Born and raised on a plantation in Fluvanna County, Virginia, Jasper was 13 when he was hired out to work in tobacco factories. Later he labored in the coal mines of Chesterfield County. Self-educated and devoutly Christian, […] Read more

John Jasper was a noted slave preacher who became a significant community leader in Richmond, Virginia, following the Civil War. Born and raised on a plantation in Fluvanna County, Virginia, Jasper at the age of 13 was hired out to work in tobacco factories in Richmond and later in the coal mines of Chesterfield County. […] Read more

From the unpublished journals of John Muir: In God’s wildness lies the hope of the world – the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware […] Read more

In God’s wildness lies the hope of the world – the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware. From the unpublished journals of John Muir […] Read more

Thank you. I’ve always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason. But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask, “What truly is logic? Who decides reason?” My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional — and back. And I have made the most important discovery […] Read more

John Singer Sargent did not see the United States until he was 20, even though he was an American. He was born on January 12, 1865, in Florence because his artistic mother was convinced the healing climate of Europe would improve her constitution. John lived as an expatriate for most of his life and traveled […] Read more

Although an American, John Singer Sargent did not even see the United States until he was 20. He was born in Florence on January 12, 1856. His mother, an amateur artist, had persuaded her doctor husband, that her sickly constitution required the healing climes of Europe. Her son remained an expatriate for the rest of […] Read more

John Wilkes Booth was a stage actor, an assassin, and a supporter of slavery as war raged in 1862. He performed McBeth, Hamlet, Othello, and Romeo in the biggest cities including Cincinnati, New York, and Boston. He played 18 different roles in one year and appeared on stage 167 times […] Read more

As war raged across the country, John Wilkes Booth became a star. In 1862, he performed in St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati. He was Hamlet, McBeth, Othello, and Romeo. Appearing 167 times, Booth played 18 different roles in the course of a single year […] Read more