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Doris A. Davis of Compton, California becom
Doris A. Davis of Compton, California becomes the first African American woman to govern a metropolitan city.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
5
1973
Percy Julian, developer of drugs to combat glaucom
Percy Julian, developer of drugs to combat glaucoma and methods to mass produce cortisone and George Washington Carver are the first African American Inventors admitted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the halls 17-year history.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
8
1990
Larry Doby
Larry Doby is born. He will become the first African American in baseballs American League, playing for the Cleveland Indians. He will be the 1954 RBI leader.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
13
1924
Wellington Webb is elected mayor
City Auditor Wellington Webb is elected mayor of Denver, Colo. He is the first African American to hold the post.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
18
1991
Ambassador
Clifton Wharton is sworn in as ambassador to Norway. Clifton Wharton was the 1st Black person to earn a PhD in economics from University of Chicago in as well as the first Black president of Michigan State, predominantly White university.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
9
1961
Mound Bayou
Mound Bayou, an all African American town in Mississippi is founded by Isaiah Montgomery
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
12
1887
Congressman William Gray
Congressman William Gray is elected Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives, the highest ranking leadership position ever held by an African American in Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
14
1989
Shirley Franklin is sworn in
Shirley Franklin is sworn in as the first African American Mayor of Atlanta and the only African American female mayor of a major American city.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Jan
7
2002
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force. His father was the first African American general in the U.S. Army
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
22
1959
Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the
Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the National League. He is the first African American to head a major sports league.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Feb
3
1989
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420 million, to a group led by J. Bruce Llewellyn, the largest cable TV acquisition by an African American
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
9
1989
Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtic
Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the first African American to coach an NBA team.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
Mar
28
1966
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley, historian, educator, and administrator, was born on this day. His published works included, Neglected History, Collapse of the Confederacy, Negro Labor in the United States, and 1850-1925: A Study of American Economic History.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
2
1895
Oscar DePriest elected to Seventy-first Congress
Oscar DePriest elected to Seventy-first Congress from Illinois First Congressional District (Chicago). He was the first congressman from the North and the first Black in Congress since the departure of George H. White in 1901.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
6
1928
Ghana became an independent state
March 6th, 1957, the Gold Coast gained its independence from Great
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Mar
6
1957
Little Walter is born.
The influential rhythm & blues harmonica player and singer Little Walter is born Marion Walter Jacobs in Marksville, LA, USA. His most popular records include My Babe and Juke.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
May
1
1930
Mary Eliza Mahoney
Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American to graduate from a nursing school, graduates from the nursing program at the New England Hospital for Women and Children
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Aug
1
1879
Death of pianist Art Tatum
Death of pianist Art Tatum (46), Los Angeles.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Nov
5
1956
Debbye Turner is crowned Miss America. She is the third African American to win
Debbye Turner is crowned Miss America. She is the third African American to win the crown since the inception of the pageant in 1921.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
16
1989
Terry McMillan, novelist born
Terry McMillan
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
18
1951
Daniel Alexander Payne
On this date in 1893, Daniel A. Payne died. The sixth bishop of the American Methodist Episcopal Church, Payne was the first African American ordained by the Lutheran Church in 1837. In 1856, he founded Wilberforce University, where he became the first Black president of a college in America. Payne
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Feb
24
1811
George Johnson
George and Noble Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1916. It was the first black-owned production company, it produced films exclusively for African
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
17
2001
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Cae
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina slave has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest know African American medical
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
9
1750
Arthur Ashe
22 year old Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American to make the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
14
1963
On this day, Lorraine Hansberry's 'A Raisin in the Sun'opened at the Ethel Bar
On this day, Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
11
1959
Harry Belafonte wins an Emmy
Harry Belafonte wins an Emmy for his variety special Tonight with Harry Belafonte. It is the first Emmy awarded to an African American.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
20
1960
Malcolm X born in Omaha, Nebraska
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the familys eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earls civil
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
19
1925
In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board
In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board of Health to help meet the cost of a sutdy of syphilis in African American men living in rural Georgia and Alabama. Thus would begin a four decade long study of syphilis without treatment. Over 400 men were allowed to
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
12
1930
Alex Haley, renowned author, dies
American biographer, scriptwriter, author who became famous with the publication of the novel ROOTS, which traces his ancestry back to Africa and covers seven American generations as they are taken slaves to the United States. The book was adapted to television series, and woke up an interest in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
10
1992
Jan Earnest Matzeliger
Jan Earnest Matzeliger was born on September 15, 1852 in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
15
1852
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