Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential artists in the history of music. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 4, 1901, he began playing the cornet at the age of 13. Armstrong perfected the improvised jazz solo as we know it. Before Armstrong, Dixieland was the style of jazz that everyone was playing.
The nation's fleet of over 100 coal plants is responsible for 57 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S., more than any other single electricity fuel source. Coal is typically burned to create steam, which is then piped at high pressure over a turbine, causing it to rotate, producing electricity.
Formed deep underground over thousands of years of heat and pressure, coal is a carbon-rich black rock that releases energy when burned. In the United States, roughly 30 percent of all electricity comes from coal: the rest comes from natural gas, nuclear, and renewables like wind and solar. Most US coal comes from either above-ground mines in Wyoming and Montana, or underground mines in Appalachia.