The roller coaster has its origins in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a simple slide that took thrillseekers down an icy ramp past a variety of colored lanterns.
Coney Island had a slow evolution in the late 1800s, followed by a sudden flourish between 1895 and 1905. Indeed, so dramatic was the explosion that it is tempting to think of Coney Island as a time rather than a place. But why did it blossom when it did, and why was its most colossal phase so short-lived?
Frederic Thompson, Elmer "Skip" Dundy, Samuel Gumpertz, John Y. McKane, George Tilyou and Dick Zigun are spotlighted in the legendary tale of Coney Island.
Wernher von Braun led NASA'S development of the Saturn V rocket that took Apollo 11 to the Moon. His Nazi record was not widely known until after his death.
