It’s Black History Month so today we’re talking about two black men who made their mark on history. First, we talk about Le Chevalier de Saint Georges aka Joseph Bologne, a french composer, duelist and war hero. Born the son of a slave and a nobleman, Joseph quickly made a name for himself in Parisian society, first as a duelist, then for his brilliant violin concertos, then as the leader of the all-black volunteer legion in the Napoleonic Wars that came to bear his name. Along the way he had to deal with racism, politicking, and the strictures of French society.

Then, we talk about Stephen Bishop, mapper of one of the largest cave systems in the world! Joseph was a self-taught multilingual geologist, a guide in the Mammoth Cave system in the early 1800s.  Working alone, Bishop made his way deeper into the system than anyone before him, and crossed a bottomless pit to discover the first examples of blind cave life known to the world.

Talking points include: wig self-defense, carriage mansions, dapper bats and more