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Jackson, Andrew
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh president of the United States. Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in Waxhaw Settlement, South Carolina. After becoming a lawyer, Jackson served in Congress and was a judge. He founded the modern day Democratic Party, campaigning under the slogan "Let the people rule". He was a major general in the War of 1812, became a national hero, and in 1828, was elected president (he served from 1829 until 1837). Jackson died on June 8, 1845, in Nashville, Tennessee.

James, Richard
The engineer Richard James (1914-1974) invented the Slinky ^TM in 1943. This spring-toy came about by accident as James was developing springs to support sensitive equipment on ships. James invented a manufacturing machine that could make a Slinky ^TM from 80 feet of steel wire in 10 seconds. His wife Betty James (1918- ) named the Slinky ^TM and runs the company that produces it.

Jansky, Karl
Karl Gothe Jansky (1905-1949) was an American radio engineer who pioneered and developed radio astronomy. In 1932, he detected the first radio waves from a cosmic source - in the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Jefferson, Thomas
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a founding father of the US, the author of the draft of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States of America (serving from 1801 to 1809). This great man was a long-term legislator, lawyer, diplomat, architect, inventor, agriculturist, writer, and revolutionary thinker. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the newly-acquired western US territory (they returned in 1806 with maps, newly-discovered animals, and information about Indian tribes). In 1800 , Jefferson sold his extensive collection of books to the Library of Congress, which had been destroyed by invading British troops.

Jemison, Mae C.

Mae C. Jemison (October 17, 1956 - ) was the first African-American woman in space. Dr. Jemison is a medical doctor and a surgeon, with engineering experience. She flew on the space shuttle Endeavor (STS-47, Spacelab-J) as the Mission Specialist; the mission lifted off on September 12, 1992 and landed on September 20, 1992.

For more information on Jemison, click here.

Jensen, James A.
James A. Jensen is a US paleontologist from Brigham Young University who discovered Supersaurus (1972) and Ultrasauros (1979). He named Cathetosaurus (1988), Dystylosaurus (1985), the family Torvosauridae (1985), and Torvosaurus (with P.M. Galton, 1979).

Johnson, Andrew
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the 17th president of the United States. Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was Abraham Lincoln's vice-president, and became president after Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Johnson was the only US president who never went to school; he was self-taught. During the Civil War, Andrew Johnson was the only Southern senator who remained loyal to the Union. During his presidency, Johnson authorized the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Johnson died on July 31, 1875, at Carter Station, Tennessee.

Johnson, Lyndon B.
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) was the 36th president of the United States. LBJ was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas. After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Vice-President Johnson became President. In 1964, Johnson was easily elected President. Johnson created a "war on poverty" and escalated the unpopular Vietnam War. Johnson did not run for a second term. Johnson served as President from 1963 until 1969. Johnson died on January 22, 1973, near Johnson City, Texas.

Johnson, William Henry
William Henry Johnson (1901- 1970) was an African-American artist who was associated with the Harlem Renaissance art movement. Johnson was born in Florence, South Carolina, but as a teenager, went to study at the National Academy of Design in New York. He painted in France from 1926 to 1930. When he returned to the USA, he opened a studio in Harlem. Johnson had his first solo art exhibition in New York in 1941. Johnson's vibrant paintings represent many subjects, ranging from scenes from everyday life to historical commemoratives of African-Americans, including Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Matthew Henson.

Joliet, Louis
Louis Joliet (1645-1700) was a Canadian explorer (born in Québec City) who explored the Canadian wilderness, including the Great Lakes area. He and Father Jacques Marquette found the Mississippi River in 1673; they were the first Caucasians to see the Mississippi River. Together, they travelled along Lake Michigan to Green Bay, canoed up the Fox River, and went downstream on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River. They travelled almost to the mouth of the Arkansas, and then stopped because they were warned of hostile Indians and Spanish explorers. They returned via the Illinois River, then the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. Joliet's journal and his maps were lost when his canoe overturned on the rapids of the Montreal River. Marquette's diary is all that remains of their journey. Joliet expanded fur trade westward, did extensive mapping, and established a fort on Anticosti Island.

Joplin, Scott
Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was a great composer and pianist. As a boy in Texarkana, Texas, Joplin taught himself to play the piano. He played and composed ragtime music, a lively, unique genre. He composed over 60 pieces (most for piano), including the "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," which are still popular today. Joplin also wrote two operas.

Jordan, Barbara
Barbara Jordan (Feb. 21, 1936-Jan. 17, 1996) was the first black U.S. congresswoman from the deep South; she served Texas for six years in the US House of Representatives. Jordan was a powerful orator who fought for civil rights and the rights of the poor.

Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch is the part of the US government that settles disputes and administers justice. The judicial branch is made up of the court system, including US District Courts, many Federal courts, the US Court of Appeals (also called the Federal Circuit Courts), and the Supreme Court.

Judson, Whitcomb L.
Judson

Whitcomb L. Judson was an American engineer from Chicago, Illinois, who invented a metal zipper device with locking teeth in 1890. Judson patented his "clasp-locker'' on Aug. 29, 1893; later in 1893, he exhibited this new invention at the Chicago World's Fair. He never succeeded in marketing his new device. The zipper was improved by the Swedish-American engineer, Gideon Sundbach, and was named by the B.F. Goodrich company in 1923. Judson died in 1909, before his device became commonly used and well-known