History

Thomas Edison (from left), Luther Burbank and Henry Ford. Two are still world-famous; the guy in the middle brought us many crop experiments, including the Himalayan blackberry that's now inescapable in Seattle. New York Botanical Garden/LuEsther T. Mertz Library/Biodiversity Heritage Library hide caption

This illustration depicts a yellow fever victim in a Jefferson Street home in Memphis. It's from a series of images entitled "The Great Yellow Fever Scourge — Incidents Of Its Horrors In The Most Fatal District Of The Southern States." Bettmann Archive hide caption

People at leisure watch boats taking part in the sixth race of the Skutsjesilen competition, a traditional boat race of sailing yachts from several Frisian cities, in Elahuizen, on August 5. Siese Veenstra/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Director Nate Parker, actors Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, and Chike Okonkwo discuss 'The Birth of a Nation' at the Deadline.com panel at The Samsung Studio during The Sundance Festival 2016. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Samsung hide caption

Roman Ducksworth in uniform. The Army corporal was shot to death by a white Mississippi police officer in 1962. Courtesy of Cordero Ducksworth and the Syracuse Cold Case Justice Initiative hide caption

The Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building first opened to the public in October 1881, though back then it was known as the U.S. National Museum. Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption

In a country where the share of multiracial children has multiplied tenfold in the past 50 years, it's a good time to take stock of our shared vocabulary when it comes to describing Americans like me. Jeannie Phan for NPR hide caption