John Adams rose to prominence in 1770, when he defended eight British soldiers who were charged with murder after they fired into a group of Bostonians, killing five and wounding six others.

John and Abigail Adams knew where American history was headed. The couple’s letters provide an extraordinary window on the revolt brewing 250 years ago.

John Adams was assigned the duty of negotiating peace with Great Britain in 1779, two years before George Washington's victory at Yorktown gave the envoy a position of strength.

After the pianist, Vikingur Olafsson, asked for a concerto over beers, the composer, John Adams, wrote “After the Fall,” which will now travel the world.

One of my favorite moments in John Adams’ 2008 autobiography Hallelujah Junction comes when Adams, as a teenager on the East Coast, decides to sit next to Duke Ellington on his piano bench — while ...