Portal:Biography/Selected article/July 27

George Washington Dixon was an American swinger , stage actor, and newspaper editor. He rose to prominence as a blackface performer (possibly the first American to do so) after performing "Coal Black Rose", "Zip Coon", and similar songs. At age 15, Dixon joined the circus, where he quickly established himself as a singer. In 1829, he began performing "Coal Black Rose" in blackface, which, with similar songs would propel him to stardom. He was by all accounts a gifted vocalist, and much of his material was quite challenging. "Zip Coon" became his trademark song. By 1835, Dixon considered journalism to be his primary vocation. His newspapers included Dixon's Daily Review, which started in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1835, and Dixon's Saturday Night Express, begun in 1836 in Boston. By this point, he had taken to using his paper to expose what he considered the misdeeds of the upper classes. These stories earned him many enemies, and Dixon was taken to court on several occasions. His most successful paper was the Polyanthos, which he began publishing in 1838 from New York City. Under its masthead, he challenged some of his greatest adversaries, including Thomas S. Hamblin, Reverend Francis L. Hawks, and Madame Restell. After a brief foray into hypnotism, "pedestrianism" (long-distance walking), and other pursuits, he retired to New Orleans. (Read more...)