1.
Yoruba people
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Yoruba people are an ethnic group of Southwestern and North Central Nigeria as well as Southern and Central Benin, together known as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute over 40 million people in total, the majority of this population is from Nigeria and make up 21% of its population, according to the CIA World Factbook, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language, which is tonal, the Yoruba share borders with the Bariba to the northwest in Benin, the Nupe to the north, and the Ebira to the northeast in central Nigeria. To the east are the Edo, Ẹsan, and the Afemai groups in mid-western Nigeria, adjacent the Ebira and Edo groups are the related Igala people found in the northeast to the left bank of the Niger river. To the southwest are the Gbe speaking Mahi, Egun, Fon and Ewe who border Yoruba communities in Benin, to the southeast are Itsekiri who live in the north-west end of the Niger delta. They are ancestrally related to the Yoruba but chose to maintain a cultural identity. Significant Yoruba populations in other West African countries can be found in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia and this older group has communities in such countries as Cuba, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Brazil, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, among others. As an ethnic description, the word Yoruba was first recorded in reference to the Oyo Empire in a written by the 16th-century Songhai scholar Ahmed Baba. It was popularized by Hausa usage and ethnography written in Arabic and Ajami during the 19th century, the extension of the term to all speakers of dialects related to the language of the Oyo dates to the second half of the 19th century. It is due to the influence of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first Anglican bishop in Nigeria, Crowther was himself a Yoruba and compiled the first Yoruba dictionary as well as introducing a standard for Yoruba orthography. The number of speakers is estimated at about 30 million in 2010. Yoruba is classified within the Edekiri languages, which together with the isolate Igala, Igala and Yoruba have important historical and cultural relationships. The languages of the two ethnic groups bear such a close resemblance that researchers such as Forde and Westermann and Bryan regarded Igala as a dialect of Yoruba, the Yoruboid languages are assumed to have developed out of an undifferentiated Volta-Niger group by the 1st millennium BCE. There are three dialect areas, Northwest, Central, and Southeast. The area where North-West Yoruba is spoken corresponds to the historical Oyo Empire, south-East Yoruba was probably associated with the expansion of the Benin Empire after c. Central Yoruba forms an area in that the lexicon has much in common with NWY. Though for a part based on the Oyo and Ibadan dialects. As of the 7th century BCE the African peoples who lived in Yorubaland were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity, by the 8th century, a powerful Yoruba kingdom already existed in Ile-Ife, one of the earliest in Africa
2.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
3.
Bloomington, Illinois
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Bloomington is a city in Illinois, United States and the county seat of McLean County. It is adjacent to Normal, and is the populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area. The 2010 census showed the city had a population of 76,610, making it the 12th most populated city in Illinois, combined with Normal, the twin cities have a population of roughly 130,000. Bloomington is located at 40°29′03″N 88°59′37″W, the city is at an elevation of 797 feet above sea level. According to the 2010 census, Bloomington has an area of 27.229 square miles. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.71 inches in February to 4.52 inches in May, the Bloomington area was at the edge of a large grove occupied by the Kickapoo people before the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the early 1820s. Springing from the settlement of Keg Grove, later called Blooming Grove, Bloomington was named as county seat on December 25,1830, when the County of McLean was incorporated, a county seat was established. However, the legislation stated the site of Bloomington would be located later, james Allin, one of the new countys promoters, offered to donate 60 acres of his land for the new town. His offer was accepted, and Bloomington was laid out and its lots were sold at a well-attended and noisy auction on the 4th of July 1831. At this time there were few roads, but rich soils brought new farmers who began commerce by conducting their business in the newly formed county. People came from all over to trade and do business at the center, known today as Downtown Bloomington, including Abraham Lincoln who was working as a lawyer in nearby Springfield. In 1900 an officer on patrol discovered a fire in a laundry across the street from the old City Hall and he sounded the alarm but the fire destroyed the majority of the downtown, especially the areas north and east of the courthouse. However, the burnt area was rebuilt from the designs of local architects George Miller. During the first two decades of the 20th century, Bloomington continued to grow, agriculture, the construction of highways and railroads, and the growth of the insurance business all influenced the growth of Bloomington and its downtown area. The downtown area became a shopping center attracting trade from adjoining counties. This trend has continued to the present day, where expansion has included many restaurants, as of the census of 2010, there were 76,610 people and 30,454 households within the city. The population density was 2,814.8 people per square mile, there were 34,339 housing units at an average density of 1,261.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 77. 5% White,10. 1% African American,0. 3% Native American,7. 0% Asian,1. 42% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 5. 6% of the population
4.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
5.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
6.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
7.
The Gumps
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The Gumps, a popular comic strip about a middle-class family, was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12,1917, until October 17,1959. According to a 1937 issue of Life, The Gumps was inspired by Andy Wheat, through Dr. Thomas Smith of Bloomingdale, Illinois, a dentist and a brother of Sidney Smith, Wheat met the cartoonist, who saw in him an ideal comic character. Wheat subsequently had his surname changed to Gump to match the cartoon character. His wifes name is Min, and he has two children, Chester and Goliath, now living in San Francisco, and an Uncle Bim who lives in Georgia, Gumps home is in Tucson, Arizona, but he also has a farm near his birthplace in Mississippi. The Gumps were utterly ordinary, chinless, bombastic blowhard Andy Gump, who is henpecked by his wife, Min, their sons Sam and baby James, wealthy Uncle Bim and they had a cat named Hope and a dog named Buck. The idea was envisioned by Joseph Patterson, editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Patterson referred to the masses as gumps and thought a strip about the domestic lives of ordinary people and their ordinary activities would appeal to the average American newspaper reader. He hired Smith to write and draw the strip, and it was Smith who breathed life into the characters, Smith was the first cartoonist to kill off a regular character, His May 1929 storyline about the death of Mary Gold caused a national sensation. The Gumps made its debut in an unusual way, cartoonist Sidney Smith had previously drawn and written Old Doc Yak, a talking-animal strip that sustained only a brief run. The very last Old Doc Yak strip depicted Yak and his moving out of their house. On Thursday, February 8,1917, the last panel showed only the empty house, on Monday, February 12,1917, after the Gumps were introduced in the space formerly occupied by Old Doc Yak, they moved into the house formerly occupied by the Yak family. The Gumps had a key role in the rise of syndication when Robert R and it was a picture paper, and it was a perfect setting for the newly developed art of the comic strip. The first issue shows but a strip, The Gumps. It was the almost instant popularity of this strip that directly brought national syndication into being. As one of the earliest continuity strips, The Gumps was extremely popular, many of these shorts were directed by Norman Taurog, later famed as the leading director of Elvis Presley movies. In 1924, Smith wrote his characters into a novel, Andy Gump, His Life Story, the strip and its merchandising made Smith a wealthy man. On his way home from signing a $150,000 a year contract in 1935, he crashed his new Rolls-Royce, Patterson replaced Smith with sports cartoonist Gus Edson. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, when actor Martin Landau was a cartoonist, he worked as Edsons assistant on The Gumps, the Gumps launched a craze for continuity strips in newspapers. It also influenced radio and television programming, at the Chicago Tribunes radio station WGN, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll signed on as staffers in 1925
8.
Chicago Tribune
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The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by tronc, Inc. formerly Tribune Publishing. The Tribune was founded by James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, forrest, publishing its first edition on June 10,1847. The paper saw numerous changes in ownership and editorship over the eight years. Initially, the Tribune was not politically affiliated but tended to either the Whig or Free Soil parties against the Democrats in elections. By late 1853, it was frequently running xenophobic editorials that criticized foreigners, about this time it also became a strong proponent of temperance. Ray became editor-in-chief, Medill became the editor, and Alfred Cowles, Sr. brother of Edwin Cowles. Each purchased one third of the Tribune, under their leadership the Tribune distanced itself from the Know Nothings and became the main Chicago organ of the Republican Party. However, the continued to print anti-Catholic and anti-Irish editorials. Between 1858 and 1860, the paper was known as the Chicago Press & Tribune, on October 25,1860, it became the Chicago Daily Tribune. Before and during the American Civil War, the new editors pushed an abolitionist agenda and strongly supported Abraham Lincoln, the paper remained a force in Republican politics for years afterwards. In 1861, the Tribune published new lyrics for the song John Browns Body by William W. Patton, Medill served as mayor of Chicago for one term after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Under the 20th-century editorship of Colonel Robert R. Joseph McCarthy, when McCormick assumed the position of co-editor in 1910, the Tribune was the third-best-selling paper among Chicagos eight dailies, with a circulation of only 188,000. At the same time, the Tribune competed with the Hearst paper, by 1914, the cousins succeeded in forcing out Managing Editor William Keeley. By 1918, the Examiner was forced to merge with the Chicago Herald, in 1919, Patterson left the Tribune and moved to New York to launch his own newspaper, the New York Daily News. In a renewed war with Hearsts Herald-Examiner, McCormick and Hearst ran rival lotteries in 1922. The Tribune won the battle, adding 250,000 readers to its ranks, also in 1922, the Chicago Tribune hosted an international design competition for its new headquarters, the Tribune Tower. The competition worked brilliantly as a publicity stunt, and more than 260 entries were received, the winner was a neo-Gothic design by New York architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood. The newspaper sponsored an attempt at Arctic aviation in 1929
9.
Cartoonist
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A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is created for entertainment, political commentary, or advertising. The English satirist and editorial cartoonist William Hogarth, who emerged In the 18th century, has credited with pioneering Western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic series of pictures called modern moral subjects. Much of his work poked fun at politics and customs. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and caricature, calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account, while never a professional cartoonist, Benjamin Franklin is credited with having the first cartoon published in an American newspaper. In the 19th century, professional cartoonists such as Thomas Nast introduced other familiar American political symbols, during the 20th century, numerous magazines carried single-panel gag cartoons by such freelance cartoonists as Charles Addams, Irwin Caplan, Chon Day, Clyde Lamb, and John Norment. These were almost always published in black and white, although Colliers often carried cartoons in color, the debut of Playboy introduced full-page color cartoons by Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, and others. Single-panel cartoonists syndicated to newspapers included Dave Breger, Hank Ketcham, George Lichty, Fred Neher, Irving Phillips, comic strips received widespread distribution to mainstream newspapers by syndicates such as the Universal Press Syndicate, United Media, or King Features. Sunday strips go to a company such as American Color before they are published. Some comic strip creators publish in the press or on the Internet. Comic strip artists may also work in book-length form, creating graphic novels. Both vintage and current strips receive reprints in book collections, the major comic book publishers utilize teams of cartoonists to produce the art. When a consistent artistic style is wanted among different cartoonists, character model sheets may be used as reference, animated cartooning is created for short films, advertising, feature films and television. It is also used in live-action films for dream sequences or opening titles. An animation artist is referred to as an animator rather than a cartoonist. They create motion pictures as well, Animation studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Blue Sky Studios create CGI or computer-animated films that are more three-dimensional. There are many books of cartoons in both paperback and hardcover, such as the collections of cartoons from The New Yorker, prior to the 1960s, cartoons were mostly ignored by museums and art galleries
10.
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
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The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the 40/50 h. p. the chassis was first made at Royces Manchester works, with moving to Derby in July 1908. 60551, registered AX201, was the car that was given the name Silver Ghost. The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royces claim of making the Best car in the world – a phrase coined not by themselves, the chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. The 40/50 hp was so new that the cars were not fully finished. The car at first had a new side-valve, six-cylinder,7036 cc engine with the cylinders cast in two units of three cylinders each as opposed to the triple two-cylinder units on the earlier six, a three-speed transmission was fitted at first with four-speed units used from 1913. The seven-bearing crankshaft had full pressure lubrication, and the main bearing was made especially large to remove vibration. Two spark plugs were fitted to each cylinder with, from 1921, continuous development allowed power output to be increased from 48 bhp at 1,250 rpm to 80 bhp at 2,250 rpm. Electric lighting became an option in 1914 and was standardised in 1919, electric starting was fitted from 1919 along with electric lights to replace the older ones that used acetylene or oil. Development of the Silver Ghost was suspended during World War I, although the chassis, the chassis had rigid front and rear axles and leaf springs all round. Early cars only had brakes on the wheels operated by a hand lever. The footbrake system moved to drums on the axle in 1913. Four-wheel servo-assisted brakes became optional in 1923, despite these improvements the performance of the Silver Ghosts competitors had improved to the extent that its previous superiority had been eroded by the early 1920s. Sales declined from 742 in 1913 to 430 in 1922, the company decided to launch its replacement which was introduced in 1925 as the New Phantom. After this, older 40/50 models were called Silver Ghosts to avoid confusion, a total of 7874 Silver Ghost cars were produced from 1907 to 1926, including 1701 from the American Springfield factory. Many of them still run today, a fine example is on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. A 40/50 was privately entered in the prestigious 1912 Austrian Alpine Trial by James Radley, a factory team of four cars were prepared for the 1913 event with four-speed gearboxes, and engine power increased from 60 to 75 bhp by an increase in compression ratio and larger carburettor. The team gained six awards including the Archduke Leopold Cup, in 1907 Claude Johnson, Commercial and Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company
11.
Amos 'n' Andy
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Amos n Andy is an American radio and television sitcom set in Harlem, Manhattans historic black community. When the show moved to television, black actors took over the majority of the roles, Amos n Andy began as one of the first radio comedy series and originated from station WMAQ in Chicago. After the first broadcast in 1928, the became a hugely popular radio series. Early episodes were broadcast from the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs, the show ran as a nightly radio serial, as a weekly situation comedy, and as a nightly disc-jockey program. A television adaptation ran on CBS and continued in syndicated reruns and it would not be shown to a nationwide audience again until 2012. Amos n Andy creators, Gosden and Correll, were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions and they met in Durham, North Carolina, in 1920. Both men had some scattered experience in radio, but it was not until 1925 that the two appeared on Chicagos WQJ and their appearances soon led to a regular schedule on another Chicago radio station, WEBH, where their only compensation was a free meal. The lucrative offer allowed them to become full-time broadcasters, the Victor Talking Machine Company also offered them a recording contract. He suggested that Gosden and Correll adapt The Gumps for radio, the idea seemed to involve more risk than either Gosden or Correll was willing to take, neither was adept at imitating female voices, which would have been necessary for The Gumps. They were also conscious of having made names for themselves with their previous act, by playing the roles of characters doing dialect, they would be able to conceal their identities enough to be able to return to their old pattern of entertaining if the radio show was a failure. Instead, they proposed a series about a couple of colored characters and their new show, Sam n Henry, began on January 12,1926, and fascinated radio listeners throughout the Midwest. When WGN rejected the proposal, Gosden and Correll quit the show, episodes of Sam n Henry continued to be aired until July 14,1928. Corrells and Gosdens characters contractually belonged to WGN, so, when they left WGN, WMAQ, the Chicago Daily News station, hired Gosden and Correll and their former WGN announcer, Bill Hay, to create a series similar to Sam n Henry. They offered higher salaries than WGN and the right to pursue the chainless chain syndication idea, the creators later said that they named the characters, Amos and Andy, after hearing two elderly African-Americans greet each other by those names in a Chicago elevator. Amos n Andy began on March 19,1928 on WMAQ, early 1930s broadcasts of the show were done from the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs, California. For the programs run as a nightly series, Gosden. With the episodic drama and suspense heightened by cliffhanger endings, Amos n Andy reached a radio audience. Amos Jones and Andy Brown worked on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia, by 1930, the noted toy maker Louis Marx and Company was offering a tin wind-up version of the auto, with Amos and Andy inside
12.
Sol Hess (writer)
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Sol Hess was a comic strip writer best known for creating the long-run strip The Nebbs with animation artist Wallace Carlson. Born on an Illinois farm, Hess moved with his parents to Chicago and he took a job as a traveling salesman for a wholesale jewelry company and became a successful jeweler with Rettif, Hess & Madsen, a prominent firm. The company office was located near the Chicago Tribune, and Hess became friendly with the Tribune journalists and he entered the comics field as an amateur writer, receiving no pay for the gags he supplied to the cartoonists. Sidney Smith created The Gumps in 1917, and two later, he started using Hess dialogue and ideas. In 1922, after Smith signed a contract, Hess felt he was due a significant share as writer. When Smith offered him only $100 a week, a bitter Hess decided to create his own comic strip, earning $800 a week after he teamed with cartoonist Carlson to launch The Nebbs on May 22,1923. Carlson had been animating The Gumps for John Randolph Bray in 1919, and while the series was not successful, it brought Carlson in contact with Hess, carlsons career as animator ended with his last Gumps short, Fatherly Love. The Nebbs closely paralleled The Gumps, although the character of Junior Nebb bore a resemblance to an earlier Carlson character. With a situation and characters not unlike The Gumps, the strip caught on with readers and quickly became popular, comics historian Don Markstein described the characters, Even the name was Gumps-like. Gump was a word Tribune Syndicate chief Joseph M. Patterson used for a member of the Unwashed Masses, the name Nebb was short for nebbish, a Yiddish word for the sort of person who doesnt stand out in any way. Dad Rudy wasnt a type, but he did think more highly of himself than an objective observer would be likely to do. Mom Fanny was a domestic type, the family power center. Young son Junior was a lot like Chester Gump, but he did have a fabulous adventure, such as joining a circus. Teenage daughter Betsy, a young woman of the flapper era, was the only one who didnt have an analog in the other strip. Despite its similarity to a property, The Nebbs caught on. In fact, it was in most of the Hearst papers, despite being distributed by a rival of Hearsts King Features Syndicate, but it never reached the stellar heights of The Gumps. There were a few Big Little Books in the 1930s, a radio show in the mid-40s. Interviewed in 1929, Hess talked about his characters and finding humor in real-life situations, oh, they are entirely imaginary, he declared
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