Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle, shown here sometime between 1910 and 1918, were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers. The Castles' initial fame began in Paris where they introduced American ragtime dances such as the Turkey Trot and the Grizzly Bear. When the Castles returned to the U.S., their success was repeated on a far wider scale. They are best known for popularizing the Foxtrot. Vernon was fatally injured in an airplane crash in 1918; Irene went on to become a silent film star and lived until 1969.Photo credit: Frances Benjamin Johnston