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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Ragtime music is a popular American style of music known for its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm. The music style originated in predominately African-American communities and exploded in popularity by the late 1800s, led by artists such as Scott Joplin and Sissieretta Jones. Ragtime expanded its influence in the early 1900s, finding its way to Europe. Ragtime music had a strong influence on early jazz, ultimately becoming a synthesis of African and European music. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| 1847 | American composer Louis Gottschalk uses African rhythms in his piece "La Bamboula." |
|---|---|
| 1893 | Ragtime music is introduced to the American public during the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago’s World Fair). |
| 1894 | The terms “rag” and “rag time” are first used to describe the new musical genre. |
| 1897 | John Turpin, influenced by his father’s music venue the Rosebud Bar in St. Louis, releases several ragtime pieces, including the Harlem Rag. |
| 1897 | First piano rag entitled “Mississippi Rag” is published by W.H. Krell. |
| 1899 | Scott Joplin composes Maple Leaf Rag. |
| 1908 | Ragtime’s influence in Europe is seen in French composer’s Claude Debussy’s "Golliwogg’s Cake-Walk." |
| 1916 | Eubie Blake, Noble Sissie, and James Reese Europe collaborate on the production "Shuffle Along", a musical sensation in 1921. |
