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George Washington Carver (1864-1943), botanist and agricultural scientist, gained international fame for his work in agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute. He taught improvement of the soil and developed hundreds of products from the peanut, sweet potato, and soybean. A biography of George Washington Carver, who was born in Missouri and educated in Iowa, is included in Volume C.
William Brockman Bankhead (1874-1940) was born in Moscow (now Sulligent), Alabama. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1917 to 1940. He was speaker of the House from 1936 to 1940. His daughter, Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, became one of America's best-known actresses. His father, John H. Bank-head, and his brother, John H. Bankhead, Jr., were both U.S. senators.
Helen Adams Keller, who was born in Tus-cumbia in 1880, lost both sight and hearing before she was 2 years old. Because she could not hear, she also lost the ability to speak. In spite of her disabilities, she gained an education, learned to speak, and then spent her life lecturing and writing to raise money for the training of other disabled persons. Her biography is included in Volume K.
George Corley Wallace (1919- ) was born in Clio, Alabama. He was a judge and state legislator before his election in 1962 as governor of Alabama. He was re-elected to that office in 1970, 1974, and 1982. He was also a presidential candidate in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976. A bullet from an assassination attempt during the 1972 campaign left him disabled.
Three Alabamians have become justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices John McKinley and John A. Campbell, who served during the I 800's, were born in other states. Hugo L. Black, who became a justice in 1937, was born in Clay County, Alabama.
Writers, musicians, and entertainers who were born in Alabama include novelists Nelle Harper Lee (Monroeville) and Bordcn Deal(Tuscaloosa), composer William C. Handy (Florence), and singer Nat "King" Cole (Montgomery).
Famous names in sports include heavyweight champion Joe Louis (born Joe Louis Barrow, Lafayette); baseball players Henry "Hank" Aaron (Mobile), Frank Lary (North-port), and Willie Mays (Fairfield); and sports announcer Mel Alien (born Melvin Alien Israel, Birmingham).
HISTORY
At the time of Columbus, Alabama was inhabited by four main groups of Indians. They were the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. Sometimes there were skirmishes resulting from border disputes. But usually the Indians lived in peace, hunting, fishing, and raising corn and vegetables on small plots of land.
Exploration and Settlement
During the early 1500's Spanish explorers sailed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. But Europeans were not seen in the interior of Alabama until 1540, when Hernando de Soto passed through with a band of well-armed soldiers. De Soto forced the peaceful Indians to provide him with food and servants, and his harsh methods stirred up resentment. When he reached the land governed by the gigantic Choctaw chieftain, Tuskaloosa, he ran into trouble. De Soto captured the chief and took him to the tribe's strongly fortified village. Here the Indians rose up to free their chief. For many hours the bloody battle raged. The Spanish soldiers slaughtered Indian men, women, and children alike. When the battle was over, the village was in ruins and its population was destroyed. De Soto's troops also suffered heavy losses. Later, in 1559, Spanish colonists started a settlement on Mobile Bay, but storms and other troubles caused the settlers to leave.
Реферат опубликован: 17/09/2007