Dynamic Directory - July 7, 2026

Joanne Pearce-Martin is principal keyboardist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Toronto Music Garden is inspired by J.S. Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello. In this video clip, Yo-Yo Ma—who was involved in the garden project—plays the Prelude.

(Robert) Vijay Gupta, child prodigy and friend of Nathaniel Ayers, is a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Lewis Thornton Powell was born in Alabama, lived in Florida and served as a Confederate soldier. He became a "Lincoln Conspiracy" Defendant.

Samuel A. Mudd was a young doctor with several children when he met John Wilkes Booth in the fall of 1864.

After attacking Secretary of State William Seward - on the night of April 14, 1865 - Lewis Powell (also known as Lewis Paine/Payne) hid in a wooded area for three days and nights.

The Surratt family owned two properties - one, in Surrattsville, and the other in Washington City.

In 1987, Lillian Disney - the widow of Walt Disney - decided to give a gift to the people of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has a large homeless population. Some of the city's homeless people live in the Skid Row section of town, not far from Disney Hall.

Born Hugh Smithson, Lord Percy was the 2nd Duke of Northumberland and a Member of Parliament. His half-brother willed funds to America which the government used to found the Smithsonian.

In this disastrous battle, from the patriots perspective, a tired and outnumbered British force (led by Banastre Tarleton) routed the Americans (led by Abraham Buford) near the border of North and South Carolina.

As shown in this map, the western shore of the Dead Sea is located in Israel while the eastern shore is in Jordan.

After the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Continental Congress authorized a new form of currency to be used throughout the United Colonies.

After Patriots forced General Howe and his fleet out of Boston, the Brits sailed into New York Harbor in June of 1776.

Oliver Wendell Holmes is known for some of his free-speech decisions which he wrote while serving as a Supreme Court Justice.

Learn the story behind one of the most-famous photos of the U-boat War: The attack of U-569.

Professor Wiles has won the Abel Prize for solving Fermat's Last Theorem. How long did it take to solve it? How did he do it?

Ansel Adams, one of America's greatest photographers, started his professional life as a pianist. What made him decide to switch profressions?

As Alan Turing and his Bletchly Park colleagues worked feverishly to break the Enigma code, they caught a break when the Royal Navy captured U-110 on May 9, 1941. Onboard was a working Enigma machine and secret codes for the following month. Initially towing the disabled U-boat to Iceland, the crew with the secret treasure was redirected to Scotland.

On January 6, 1838, Samuel Morse successfully tests an electrical telegraph. So why did it take years longer to send the first message?