The pianist and composer Scott Joplin (1867?-1917) was nicknamed “The King of Ragtime” and is regarded as the greatest practitioner of that art form, as well as a classical composer deserving serious consideration. Born in northeast Texas to a family of laborers, he worked as a traveling musician and eventually played the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, helping turn ragtime into a national craze. He suffered from financial problems despite the success of compositions like “Maple Leaf Rag” and eventually died of syphilis.