Master Juba (c. 1825 – 1852 or 1853) was an African-American dancer. He was one of the first black performers in the United States to play onstage for white audiences and the only one of the era to tour with a white minstrel group. He began his career in Manhattan's Five Points neighborhood and moved to minstrel shows in the mid-1840s. His act featured a sequence in which he imitated famous dancers, then closed by performing in his style. In 1848, he became a sensation in Britain for his dance style, but writers treated him as an exhibit on display. Juba's popularity faded and he died in 1852 or 1853, likely from overwork and malnutrition. He was largely forgotten by historians until a 1947 article by Marian Hannah Winter popularized his story. Juba's dancing style was percussive, varied in tempo and expressive. It likely incorporated European folk steps and African-derived steps used by plantation slaves. Juba was highly influential in the development of tap, jazz, and step-dancing styles. (Full article...).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Juba

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1910:

William D. Boyce established the Boy Scouts of America, expanding the Scout Movement into the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_America

1965:

After taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision just after taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 84 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_663

1979:

Denis Sassou Nguesso was chosen as the new President of the Republic of the Congo after Joachim Yhombi-Opango was forced from power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Sassou_Nguesso

1981:

Rhodesian Bush War: Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army cadres in Gwelo attacked Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army troops, killing over 60 of them and starting the 1981 Entumbane uprising. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Entumbane_uprising

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mendelevium: 1. (chemistry) A radioactive metallic transuranic chemical element (symbol Md) with atomic number 101, which is artificially produced in a particle accelerator. 2. About Word of the Day 3. Nominate a word 4. Leave feedback https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mendelevium

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts — the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others; but of the three, the only quite trustworthy one is the last.   --John Ruskin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Ruskin