A Brief History
On February 23, 1778, the Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge to assist George Washington with training the Continental Army. Washington was waging a war of independence against Britain, to forever remove what would become the United States from the tyranny of living under a King. Today, we find there are many “kings” in the USA and we list some of these from the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Digging Deeper
First, we have “The King of all media,” Howard Stern, shock jock of radio, television, literature, and the internet.
Several musical “kings” have reigned, including Elvis Presley, “the King of rock and roll,” and Michael Jackson, “the King of pop.”
Then we have King Kong, the monarch of movie monsters that has spawned 13 films, television appearances, books, comic books, video games, and other cultural references.
The “King of Hollywood” is a title that has been bestowed on a few men, including Douglas Fairbanks, Clark Gable, and even Harvey Weinstein.
Speaking of filmdom, we have had movie and television “kings,” including The King of New York, Tulsa King, Sky King, King Creole, and the previously mentioned King Kong.
Politics brought us Huey “Kingfish” Long, who said he wanted to make “every man a king.” America sure would have had a lot of kings!
Our world of nature brings us the Kingfisher bird, the King Salmon, and the King Mackerel, as well as the Kingsnake and the Kingbird.
Heck, back in the 19th Century people said, “Cotton is King!”
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What other American “kings” would you list here?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
DK. The American Revolution: A Visual History. DK, 2016.
Winter, Jonah. Elvis Is King! Schwartz & Wade, 2019.
The featured image in this article, Baron von Steuben at Valley Forge, is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
