UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
Today in Black History

Today in Black History

FOREWARD

Parts of this file had been appearing weekly in the SOCIETY.AFRICAN.AMERICAN Newsgroup on Usenet. Posts were by Charles Isbell. The Normandeau Newswire which is a "Conference" on the Invention Factory BBS 212-274-8110 asked Charles to send the entire list via Internet Email which he did. Therefore this file is through the courtesy of Charles Isbell of SOCIETY.AFRICAN.AMERICAN Newsgroup on Usenet.

Original compilation is by a High School mentioned as one of the events.


January 1    Kwanzaa Ends
             Emancipation Proclamation 1863
             African Benevolent Society (Education) 1808
             Haiti Independence Act 1804
             New Year's Day

January 2    William Lloyd Garrison began publishing _The Liberator_,
                Abolitionist newspaper, in Boston Mass 1831
             John Hope Franklin, historian,  born 1915

January 3    William Tucker, first Black child born in America, baptized
                in Jamestown 1624

January 4    The first Black baseball league, National Negro Baseball
                League, organized 1920

January 5    George Washington Carver, scientist, died (1864 - 1943)

January 6

January 7    W.B. Purvis patented the fountain pen 1890
             Marian Anderson, first Black person to appear in 
             Metropolitan Opera in Verdi's Masked Ball 1955

January 8    Fannie M. Jackson, pioneer and educator, first Black woman 
                college graduate in US born (1836 - 1913)

January 9

January 10   James Varicick, first A.M.E. Zion Bishop, born 1768
             Edward Brooke, Mass. Senator takes office 1967
             Lincoln declared Blcks should be educated in D.C.

January 11

January 12   Congressional Black Caucus organized in 1971
             Mordecai W Johnson, educator, born (1890 - 1976)

January 13   Convention of the Colored National Labor Union, the first    
                Black labor convention, 1869

January 14   John Oliver Killens, novelist, born 1916
             Ernest Just, a Black biologist, served as V.P. of American
                Zoologists, 1930
             [My mom, Jacqueline Isbell, born this date]

January 15   Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, born, 1929 - 
                1968

January 16   Lucius D. Amerson sworn in as first Black sheriff of the 
                South in the 20th century (Macon County, Ala.)

January 17   Paul Cuffee, merchant, shipbuilder and Black nationalist, 
                born 1759

January 18   Dr Daniel H. William performed first successful open hear
                operation, born 1856
             Robert C. Weaver became first Black presidential cabinet 
                member when sworn in as Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Affairs, 1966 (Johnson Administration)

January 19

January 20   W.R. Pettiford, Founder of Alabama Penny Savings Bank, born 
                1847

January 21   Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
             Freedom Journal, first Black paper 1827

January 22   

January 23   Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded Provident Hospital in 
                 Chicago, 1889
             Paul Robeson, athlete, lawyer, singer, died in Philadelphia 
                 1976

January 24   Martin Delaney, ethnologist, died 1812-1885
             Jackie Robinson, first Black elected to the Baseball Hall 
                of Fame, 1962

January 25   Sojourner Truth addressed the first Black Women's Rights
                Convention, Akron Ohio, 1851

January 26   54th Regiment (Black) infantry formed 1863
             Executive Order 9981, to end segregation in US Armed Forces
                signed by President Harry Truman, 1948

January 27

January 28   John Brown organized raid on Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, 
                1858
             Philadelphia's Free Africa Society organized, 1787

January 29   Francis L. Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South 
                Carolina, 1872

January 30   William Wells Brown published first Black drama, "Leap to 
                Freedom" 1858

January 31

February 1  Black college students staged a sit-in at a segregated lunch
               counter in Greensboro, N. C., 1960
            Langston Hughes, poet and author, born 1902-1967

February 2

February 3  Geraldine McCullough wins Widener Gold Medal for Sculpture,     
                1965
            15th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed 1870

February 4   24th Amendment abolished Poll tax, 1864

February 5

February 6   First organized emigration of U.S. Blacks back to Africa, 
                from New York to Sierra Leone, 1820
             Peabody Fund established to promote Black education in 
                South, 1867

February 7   President Truman appointed Irwin C. Mollison judge of the 
                US Customs Court, 1945
             Eubie Blake, famed pianist, born in Baltimore 1883-1983
             Freedman's Aid Society, founded to promote education among 
                Blacks

February 8

February 9   Paul Lawrence Dunbar, 1st poet to use Black dialect in his 
                verse, died 1872-1906
             Leroy "Satchel" Paige elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, 
                1971

February 10  Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded, 1957
             Andrew Brimmer, the first Black person to serve on the 
                Federal Reserve Board, [born?] 1966
             Leontyne Price, world renowned soprano, born 1927

February 11  Nelson Mandela, leader of movement for democracy in South 
                Africa, released from prison after 27 years, 1990
             Clifford Alexander, Jr.  first Black Secretary of State, 
                confirmed 1977

February 12  Lincoln's birthday
             NAACP founded after riot in Springfield, Ill., 1909

February 13  First Black pro Basketball team, "The Renaissance," 
                organized 1923

February 14  Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist, born 1817 - 1895
             Morhouse College, founded in Atlanta, 1867

February 15

February 16

February 17

February 18

February 19  First Pan-African Congress organized in Paris by WEB 
                 DuBois, 1919

February 20

February 21  Malcolm X assassinated, 1925 - 1965

February 22

February 23  WEB DuBois, author and historian, born 1868-1963

February 24  Bishop Daniel A Payne, reformer and educator of AME Church, 
                 born 1811

February 25  Hiram R. Revels, first Black US Senator, took oath of 
                 office 1870

February 26

February 27  Marion Anderson, singer, born in Philadelphia 1897.
             Charlotte Ray, first Black woman lawyer, graduated Howard 
             U, 1872

February 28  Phillis Wheatly, poetess, died 1753-1784

March 1      Howard University, Washington DC, charted, 1867

March 2      Freedman's Bureau founded for Black Education, 1865

March 3      Richard Allen founded AME Church, 1794
             Garrett Morgan, inventor, born 1877 - 1963

March 4      Crispus Attucks died, 1723 - 1770

March 5

March 6      Dred Scott decision (Blacks are not citizens of the U.S.), 
                1857

March 7

March 8

March 9      Harriet Tubman, "engineer" of the Underground Railroad 
                died, 1821 - 1913

March 10

March 11     Benjamin Banneker with L'Enfant began to lay out Washington 
                in the District of Columbia, 1789

March 12     Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable founded settlement now 
                known as Chicago, Ill, 1773

March 13     Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, based on the ideas and 
                plans of a slave, 1794
             Fanie Lou Hamer, freedom fighter, died 1977
             Absalom Jones ordained first Black priest in Episcopal 
                Church

March 14     African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church founded, 1821, New 
                York

March 15     Freedom's Journal, first Black newspaper, published by John
                Russwurm and Samuel Cornish, 1827

March 16     Norbert Rillieux, inventor of sugar refining, born 1806-
                1894

March 17     The Phoenix Society founded 1833, New York

March 18

March 19     Jan Matzeliger invented the first machine to manufacture 
                entire shoe, 1883

March 20     Patience Singleton friend of compiler of most of these 
                facts born

March 21     Nambia gained its independence, 1990
             Alonzo Pietro, pilot, sailed with Columbus, 1492
             Selma Freedom March, 1965

March 22

March 23

March 24

March 25     Scottsboro Boys arrested, Point Rock, Alabama, 1931

March 26     Thomas J Martin awarded patent for fire extinguisher, 1872
             William Hastie, first Black federal judge, appointed 1937
             Richard Allen, AME Church Bishop, (born?  died?) 1760 - 
                 1831

March 27

March 28     New York State abolished slavery, 1799
             Ohio passed law restricting the movement of Blacks, 1804

March 29

March 30    15th amendment gave Blacks the right to vote, 1870 [Hah!]

March 31

April 1      Dr Charles Richard Drew, scientist,  discovered blood 
                plasma.
             North Caroline Mutual opened doors for business, 1899

April 2

April 3      Dr Matthew Ricketts, first Black man elected to Nebraska 
                State Legislature (from Omaha), born 1858 [actually, 
                this may be 1958--anyone have any info?]

April 4      Dr Martin Luther King Jr, civil rights leader, assassinated
                1929 - 1968

April 5      Booker T Washington, educator and founder of Tuskegee 
                Institute, born 1856 - 1915

April 6      Matthew Henson explorer in expedition of six to reach North
                Pole, 1909

April 7      Billie Holiday, blues singer, born 1917 in E. Baltimore

April 8

April 9      Paul Robeson, actor, scholar, singer, born 1898 - 1976

April 10

April 11     Spelman College founded 1881
             Percy L Julian, chemist whose research helped create drugs
                for treatment of arthritis, born 1899

April 12     Civil War began at Fort Sumter, Charleston SC 1861

April 13

April 14

April 15

April 16     Congress passed bill ending slavery in Washington, DC, 1862
             soc.culture.african.american on Internet begins, 1990
               (Internet can be accessed on Invention Factory BBS in 
               NYC, NY)

April 17

April 18     Alex Haley, author of _Roots_, awarded Pultizer Prize, 1977

April 19     Cheyney State University founded, 1837

April 20     Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad, 1853

April 21

April 22     First slave revolt occurs in South Carolina, 1526

April 23     National Urban League founded, 1913
             Granville T Woods, inventor of automatic air-brake and over 
                40 other inventions, [born? died?] 1856 - 1910

April 24     United Negro College Fund established, 1944

April 25

April 26

April 27

April 28     George B Vashon, first Black  to enter NY State Bar, 1847
             Samuel Lee Gravely appointed first Black admiral in US 
                Naval history, 1971

April 29     Col Frederick Gregory, first Black astronaut, piloted
                space shuttle Challenger, 1985 [is this right?]
             Macon B. Allen and Robert Morris Jr, first Blacks to
                practice law, open practice, 1845
             Duke Ellington, musician and jazz composer, born 1899-1975
             First day of LA riots, sparked by acquittal of four white
                cops in the beating of Rodney King, which would result
                in at least 50 deaths, thousands injured and estimates
                of up to $1 billion in property damage, 1992

April 30

May 1        Gwendolyn Brooks, first Black awarded a Pulitzer Prize 
                (poetry), 1950
             Howard University chartered, 1867

May 2        First game of National Negro Baseball League played in
                Indianapolis, 1920
             Elijah McCoy, inventor, held over 50 patents, born 1844-
                1929

May 3

May 4        CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, DC to force
                desegregation of southern bus terminals, 1961

May 5        Robert S. Abbott published first issue of the newspaper 
                "Chicago Defender" 1905

May 6        First Black Masonic Lodge founded Prince Hall, Boston, 1787

May 7        William Penn began monthly meetings for Blacks advocating
                emancipation, 1700
             The Liberty Ship George Washington Carver, named after the
                scientist, launched 1943

May 8

May 9        John Brown, abolitionist, born 1800

May 10       Smith v Allwright (excluding Blacks from primary voting is
                 illegal), 1944

May 11       Ira Aldridge, Great 19th century Black actor, famous 
                throughout the world, born 1807-1867

May 12       Segregated street cars integrated in Louisville, Ky., 
                following sit-in staged by a Black teenager, 1871

May 13       Slavery abolished in Brazil, 1888
             Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion (1937-1949),
                born 1914

May 14

May 15

May 16       Sammy Davis, Jr, entertainer, dies (1925-1990)
             Denmark abolishes slave trade, 1792

May 17       School desegregation law, Brown v Board of education, 1957

May 18

May 19       Malcolm X, political and religious activist, born 1925-1965

May 20       Elias Neau founded school for slaves in New York, 1704

May 21       Leo Pinckney, the first American draft[ed?] during World
                War I, 1917
             (Thomas) Fast Waller, Jazz pianist and composer, born 1904-
                1943

May 22       Claude McKay, Novelist and Poet, died 1948
             Langston Hughes, poet laureate, died 1957

May 23

May 24       Lincoln University, Penn, the first Black college in the US
                founded by Prebyts, 1854

May 25       Henry O. Tanner, artist, died 1859-1937
             Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, dancer and entertainer, born in
                Richmond VA, 1878

May 26

May 27       Blind Tom Bethune, pianist and composer, born 1849
             Victoria E Matthews, educator, born in New York, 1861 - 
               1898

May 28       Eliza Ann Gardner, underground railway conductor, born 1831

May 29

May 30       Countee Cullen, poet, born in Baltimore, 1903

May 31       National Negro Committee (now NAACP) held first conference,
                New York, 1909

June 1       Sojourner Truth begins travel as abolitionist speaker, 1843
             Slavery abolished in all US possessions, 1862

June 2       Harriet Tubman led Union Army guerillas into Maryland, 
                freeing more than 700 slaves,  1863
             James Augustine Healey became the first Black Catholic 
                Bishop in the US, 1875

June 3       Dr Charles Richard Drew, pioneer of blood plasma research,
                born, 1904-1950
             Poor Peoples March on Washington, 1968

June 4       Mississippi Valley State University founded 1951

June 5

June 6       First annual convention of "people of color" held in 
                Philadelphia 1831
            Stokely Carmichael launched "Black Power" movement, 1966

June 7     Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, born 1917
           Mary Church Terrell wins struggle to end segregation in 
              Washington DC restaurants, 1953

June 8     Homer A Plessy refused to move to segregated railroad coach 
              in New Orleans, initiating Plessy v Ferguson, 1892
           First Civil Rights Act passed, 1886

June 9


June 10      Richard Allen founded the Bethel African Methodist 
                Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, 1794
             Hattie McDaniel, first Black person ever to win an Oscar 
                (Best Supporting Actress, Gone With The Wind, in 1940), 
                born 1898-1952

June 11

June 12      Medgar Evers, civil rights activist, assassinated 1926-1963

June 13      Oscar J Dunn elected Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 1868
             Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court, 1967

June 14      Harriet Beecher Stowe, White abolitionist and author of 
                Uncle Tom's Cabin, born 1811-1896
             Congress ruled that Black soldiers must receive equal pay, 
                1864

June 15      Henry O Flippea became the first Black graduate of West 
                Point, 1877
             Congress of racial Equality (CORE), founded 1943
             Josiah Henson, abolitionist [born? died?] 1789-1883

June 16      Denamrk Vessy led slave rebellion in South Carolina, 1822

June 17      James Weldon Johnson, writer poet, first Black admitted to 
                Florida Bar, co-author of "Lift Every Voice And Sing" 
                (Black National  Anthem), born 1871-1938

June 18      Slave revolt leaders Denmark Vesey and Peter Poyas arrested 
                in Charleston, SC, 1822
             Nannie Burroughs founded national training School for 
                Women, 1909

June 19      Tennessee University opened as Tennessee A and L State 
                College, 1912

June 20      Dr Lloyd A Hall, pioneer in food chemistry, born Illinois, 
                1894

June 21      Henry O Tanner, artist, born 1859-1937

June 22      WEB DuBois becomes first Black member of National Institute 
                of Letters, 1943

June 23      Wilma Rudolph, former polio victim who became the world 
                famous track star, winning three gold medals in the 
                Olympic Games, born 1940.

June 24

June 25      Fair Employment Practices Commission established 1941
             Abraham Lincoln signed bill providing schools for Black
                children [no date given]

June 26      Blacks and Whites riot over racial segregation in ST 
                Augustine 1964

June 27      Paul Lawrence Dunbar, poet and novelist, born 1872-1906

June 28      Supreme Court handed down Bakke decision, affecting racial 
                quotas in education and industry, 1978

June 29      Carter Woodson wins Springarn Medal for his research of 
                Black history, 1926

June 30

July 1

July 2       Vermont became the first US territory to abolish slavery, 
                1777
             Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, born in Baltimore 
                1908
             Civil Rights Act passed, 1964

July 3

July 4       Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, trumpet king, born 1900
             Booker T Washington opened Tuskegee Institute in Alabama 
                1881

July 5

July 6

July 7       Althea Gibsaon won women's single tennis championship at
                Wimbledon, 1957

July 8

July 9       Dr Daniel Hale Williams (1858-1931) performed first 
                successful open heart surgery at Provident Hospital in 
                Chicago, 1893

July 10      Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, born 1875-1955

July 11      Niagra Movement founded by WEB DuBois, 1905

July 12      George Washington Carver, noted scientist, born 1864

July 13      Congress outlawed slavery in Northwest Territory, 1787

July 14

July 15      Public schools for Blacks open in Philadelphia, 1822

July 16      V.A. Johnson, first Black female to practice before US 
                Supreme Court, born 1882

July 17

July 18      Lemuel Haynes, first Black to serve as minister to a White
                congregation, born 1753

July 19

July 20

July 21      National Association of Colored Women founded by Mary 
                Church Terrell in Washington DC, 1896

July 22      President Lincoln read first draft of Emancipation 
                Proclamation to Cabinet, 1861

July 23      Louis Tompkins Wright, physician, born 1891 - 1952

July 24

July 25      Charles Cordone won Pulitzer Prize for his play "No Place 
                to Be Somebody" 1970
             First warship named for a Black person, the SS Leonard Roy 
                Harmon, launched in Quincy Mass, 1943

July 26

July 27

July 28      The 14th Amendment, making Blacks American citizens, 
                adopted 1868

July 29      First National Convention of Black Women held in Boston 
                Mass, 1895

July 30

July 31      Whitney Young, former Executive Director of the National 
                Urban League, born 1921
             Father Patrick Francis Healy, first Black man to receive a
                PhD, named President of Georgetown University, 1874

August 1     Slavery declared unlawful in British Empire, 1834
             Benjamin E Mays [highschool of compiler of most of these 
                facts], educator and former President of Morehouse 
                college, born 1895

August 2     James Baldwin, writer, born NY 1924
             Marcus Garvey presented his "Back To Africa" program in New 
                York City, 1920

August 3

August 4     Dr Daniel H Williams, pioneer in surgery, died 1931
             Henry A Rucker appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for 
                Georgia 1897

August 5     James A Healy, first Black bishop in America, born 1830

August 6     Voting Rights Bill signed by President Lyndon Johnsom 1965

August 7     Ralph J Bunche, diplomat and winner of Nobel Peace Prize, 
                born 1904-1971

August 8

August 9     Mattheco Henson, first Black to reach North Pole, born 1866
             Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in Berlin, 1936

August 10    Ira Aldridge, famed Shakespearean actor, dies 1867

August 11    J Rosamond Johnson, author, actor and co-composer (with his
                James Weldon Johnson) of "Lift Every Voice And Sing", 
                born in Jacksonville FL, 1873-1954
             Watts Riots in Southeast LA, 1965

August 12    Dedication of Frederick Douglas' home in Washington DC as
                national shrine, 1922

August 13    First issue of Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, 1892

August 14    Ernest E Just, biologist and pioneer of cell division,
                born 1883-1941

August 15    Freed American slaves established country of Liberia, on
                the West coast of Africa, 1824

August 16    Louis E Lomax, author, born 1922-1970

August 17    WB Purvis patented the electric railway switch, 1897
             Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist, born 1887-1940

August 18

August 19    Benjamin Banneker published his first Almanac, 1791
             NAACP Youth Council begins sit-ins at lunch counters,
                Oklahoma City, 1963

August 20    Wilberforce University established in Ohio, 1856
             First Black slaves brought by the Dutch to the colony of
                Jamestown, 1619

August 21    William Count Basie, jazz pianist, big band and orchestra
                leader, born in Red Bank NJ, 1904
             Nat Turner began revolt in Southampton, VA, 1831

August 22    Fisk University established, 1867

August 23    National Negro Business League, founded 1900

August 24    Edith Sampson, first Black delegate to United Nations
                appointed by President Harry S. Truman, 1950

August 25    Althea Gibson, tennis champion, born in South Carolina,
                1927
             National Association of Colored Nurses, founded 1908

August 26

August 27    W. E. B. DuBois, editor author and civil rights leader
                dies in Ghana, 1963

August 28    Martin Luther King Jr makes "I Have A Dream" speech at
                Lincoln Memorial, 1963
             March On Washington, 1963

August 29    Sheridan Broadcasting Corp purchases Mutual Black
                Network, making it the first completely Black owned
                radio network in the world, 1979
             E. Franklin Frazier, sociologist, born 1894-1962

August 30    Roy Wilkins, 2nd Executive Director of NAACP, born 1901-
                1981
             Gabriel Prosser's slave revolt is betrayed, Virginia, 1800

August 31

September 1  Robert T Freeman was the first Black to graduate from
                Harvard Dental School, 1867

September 2

September 3  Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a
                sailor, 1838

September 4  Lewis H Latimer, inventor and engineer, born 1848-1928

September 5  John W Cromwell, Sec. American Negro Academy, born 1846
             George Washington Murray elected to Congress from South
                Carolina, 1895

September 6

September 7  Integration began in Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD
                public schools, 1954

September 8  Roy Wilkins, second Executive Director of NAACP, dies                
                1901-1981

September 9  Richard Wright, noted author of _Native Son_ and _Black
                Boy_, born 1908-1960
             Association for the study of Negro Life and History
                founded by Carter G Woodson, 1915

September 10 Congressman John R Lynch presided over the Republican
                National Convention, 1884

September 11 "Duke" Ellington won Springarn Medal for his musical
                achievements, 1959

September 12

September 13 Lewis Latimer invented and patented an electric lamp with
                a carbon filament, 1881
             Alain L Lovke, philosopher, born 1886-1954

September 14 President FD Roosevelt signed Selective Service Act,
               allowing Blacks to enter all branches of the US
               Military Service, 1940

September 15 The first National Negro Convention began in
               Philadelphia, 1830

September 16 Slavery abolished in all French territories, 1848
             Claude A Barnett founded Associated Negro Press, born
                1889 [very unclear which one of these two events
                occurred the way this is worded in my source]

September 17 Hampton Institute founded, 1861

September 18 Congress passed Fugitive Slave Law as part of the
                Compromise of 1850

September 19 Atlanta University founded 1865

September 20 First Negro Convention of Free Men agreed to boycott
                slave-produced goods, 1830

September 21 Atlanta Life Insurance Co founded, 1905

September 22 Xavier University, first Black Catholic College in US,
               opened in New Orleans, LA, 1915

September 23 Mary Church Terrell, civil rights activist, born 1863-1954

September 24 Desegregation of Central High School, Little Rock Ark, 1957

September 25 Secretary of Navy authorized enlistment of slaves as Union
                sailors, 1861

September 26 Maggie L Walker, business and civic leader, first Black
                president in US, born 1867-1934

September 27 WC Handy published "Memphis Blues" the first Blues Song, 
                1912

September 28

September 29 WGPR-TV Detroit, first Black-owned station in US, began
                broadcasting in 1975
             President JF Kennedy authorized use of federal troops in
                integration of University of Mississippi, 1962

September 30

October 1  James Meredith became first Black student at University
              of Mississippi--after 3000 federal troops quelled riots
              against his admission, 1962
           Morgan State College founded in Maryland, 1872

October 2  Thurgood Marshall sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court Justice, 1967
           Robert H Lawerence, astronaut, 1935-1967
           Nat Turner born 1800

October 3  Bethune-Cookman College opened in Daytona Beach FL, 1904

October 4

October 5  Autherine Lucy Foster born in 1929.
           Yvonne Braithwaite Burk born in 1932.

October 6  Fannie Lou Hamer, freedom fighter, born 1917

October 7  William Sill, with The Underground Railroad, born 1821 - 1902

October 8

October 9  Frank Robinson became the first Black major league
              baseball manager (Cleveland Indians), 1974

October 10

October 11  A. Miles patented the elevator, 1887
             NAACP organized the Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1939

October 12  Lincoln University founded, 1854
            Rita Frazier Normandeau of NYC born 1946 Newport News, VA

October 13  Garrett Morgan invented and patented the gas mask, 1914
            Edith Sampson, first Black female US delegate to the
               United Nations, born 1901
            Arna W Bontemps noted poet and librarian of Fisk
               University, born 1902 - 1973

October 14  Harry  Blair received a patent for his corn planting
                machine, 1834

October 14  Martin Luther King Jr. is the youngest man to win the
            Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

October 15

October 16  Harpers Ferry Insurrection, 1859

October 17  First bank for blacks organized: The Capital Savings 
            of Washington, D.C.

October 18  Paul Robeson won Spingarn Medal for his singing and
                acting achievements, 1945

October 19  US Navy opened to Black women, 1944
             Henry O Tanner, painter, won Medal of Honor at Paris
                Exposition, 1900
             Byrd Prillerman, co-founder of West Virginia State College,
                born 1859

October 20  NC Mutual Life Insurance Company organized, 1898

October 21

October 22

October 23

October 24

October 25  Benjamin O Davis Dr became the first Black general in US
               Army, 1940

October 26  Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, born 1911 - 1972

October 27  Ruby Dee born in 1927.


October 28

October 29  Supreme Court ordered end to all school desegregation "at
                once", 1969

October 30

October 31

November 1   First issue of Ebony magazine published by John H
                Johnson, 1945
             WEB DuBois began publication of NAACP monthly magazine,
                "Crisis", 1910

November 2

November 3   JH Hunter patented the portable weighing scales, 1896

November 4   T. Elkins patented the refrigerating apparatus, 1879

November 5   George Brown became first Black Lt. Governor in US
                (Colorado), 1974
             Shirley Chisholm became first Black woman elected to
                Congress, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn,
                NY, 1968
             Theo Wright becomes first Black to obtain Theology Degree
                in US, 1836
             Negro History Week initiated by Carter G Woodson, 1926

November 6

November 7   L Douglas Wilder became first Black Governor in the US
                (Virginia), 1989

November 8   Edward W. Brooke elected first Black US Senator in 85
                years (R-Mass), 1966

November 9   Benjamin Banneker, inventor, mathematician, astronomer,
                and one of the planners of Federal City (now
                Washington DC), born 1731-1806
             Medical School at Howard University opened with eight (8)
                students, 1868

November 10  Granville T Woods patented the electric railway, 1891

November 11  D McCree patented the portable fire escape, 1890
             Hanging of Nat Turner, leader of the Southampton VA Slave
                Revolt, 1831

November 12

November 13  Janet Collins, ballerina, first Black dancer to appear
                with the Metropolitan Opera Co. (in Verdi's Aida),
                1951
             Black Renaissance begins Harlem NY, 1922 [How the hell
                did they figure this out?]

November 14  Booker T. Washington died, 1856 - 1915

November 15  Inventor Granville T Woods patented his Synchronous
                Multiplier Railway Telgraph, 1887

November 16

November 17

November 18  Klu Klux Klan member convicted of 1963 church bombing
                that killed four young Black girls in Birmingham, Ala

November 19

November 20  Garrett Morgan invented and patented the traffic signal, 
                1923
             Howard University founded in Washington DC, 1865

November 21  Shaw University founded in Raleigh NC, 1865

November 22  Black Muslim movement initiated in Detroit, 1930

November 23  Andrew J Beard invented the "jerry coupler," still used
                today to connect railroad cars, 1897

November 24

November 25  Segregation in buses and terminals banned by Interstate
                Commerce Commission, 1955

November 26  National Negro Medical Association founded, 1895
             Sojourner Truth dies, 1883

November 27

November 28  Richard Wright, novelist and author of Native Son, dies,
                1908 - 1960

November 29  Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Judge, born 
                1908

November 30

December 1   Arthur Spingarn, founder of NAACP, born 1878

December 2   Charles Wesley, historian, [born?  died?] 1891

December 3

December 4   Alpha Phi Alpha, first Black Greek Letter Fraternity,
                founded 1906

December 5   Montgomery Bus Boycott initiated by the actions of Rosa
                Parks, 1955
             Phillis Wheatley, one of the first Black female poets in
                America, dies 1784
             National Council of Negro Women founded by Mary McLeod
                Bethune, 1935

December 6

December 7

December 8   Sammy Davis, Jr, entertainer, born 1925 - 1990

December 9

December 10  Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Dr Martin Luther King Jr,
                1964

December 11

December 12  National Negro Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing,"
                composed by James Weldon and James Rosamond Johnson,
                1900

December 13

December 14

December 15

December 16  Negro Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Jackson, TN,
                1890
             Andrew Young named Ambassador and Chief US Delegate to
                the United Nations, 1976

December 17

December 18  Congress passed 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, 1865

December 19  Carter G Woodson, historian and father of Black History
                Month, born 1875-1950

December 20  Mother Matelda Beasley, nun, born 1834-1903
             South Carolina secedes from the union, initiating the
                Civil War, 1860

December 21

December 22  Henry Highland Garnet, abolitionist, born 1815-1882

December 23  Alice H. Parker received a patent for the gas heating
                furnace, 1919

December 24

December 25  Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) organized
                by Rev Jesse Jackson, 1971

December 26  Kwanzaa begins

December 27

December 28

December 29

December 30  Dr Miles V Lynk, physician, published the first Black
                medical journal, 1892

December 31



Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.
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