I have heard a lot of touching stories about men and women from both China and Britain, who jointly fought the Japanese fascist forces and forged a profound friendship.
The master of syncopation in music was Scott Joplin, African American composer writing a lot around the area of St. Louis at the turn of the twentieth century.
Here's an interesting fact, when Gershwin was commissioned to write the piece, he wrote it so speedily he didn't have time to compose the part for piano.