In 1811 Charles Deslondes, a free Black, led some 400 slaves in revolt in Louisiana.
In 1831 The First Annual Convention of the People of Color was held in Philadelphia.
In 1865 John S. Rock was the first Black to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1870 Hiram Revels, from Mississippi, was the first Black Senator.
In 1492 A Black sailor named Pedro Alonzo was with Columbus when he landed here.
In 1870 Jonathan J. Wright was the first Black State Supreme Court Justice.
In 1862 Slavery was abolished in Washington, D.C and slave owners were paid a massive sum of $993,406.35 to relinquish their slaves
In 1807 Several boatloads of Africans starved themselves to death in Charleston, Couth Carolina, rather than submit to slavery.
In 1859 The protest against Jim Crow surfaced when George W. Goines refused to move from the inside section of a horse drawn street car in Philadelphia.
In 1939 Three Black slave revolts occurred in South Carolina.
In 1852 Frederick Douglas delivered his “What To The American Slave Is Your Fourth of July?” speech.
In 1917 10,000 Blacks marched in a silent protest parade down New York’s Fifth Avenue to protest the numerous lynchings of that period.
In 1885 L.S. Burridge and N.R. Marshman took out a patent for a typewriting machine.
In 1887 Alexander Miles patented the elevator.
In 1889 Leonard C. Bailey patented the folding bed.
In 1897 J. H. Evans patented the convertible sofa.
In 1896 Charles Brooks patented the street sweeper.
In 1899 John F. Pickering patented the air ship.
In 1899 Henry Blair invented the anti-aircraft gun used in World War II, as well as the corn planter and the cotton planter.
In 1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the world’s first successful heart operation.
in 1721 A slave from Africa stopped a small pox epidemic through a method of inoculation used in Africa.
In 1856 Margaret Garner killed one of her children rather than have the child recaptured and
sent back into slavery.
In 1841 A slave revolt occurred aboard the slave ship Creole, and slaves took over the ship
and sailed to the Bahamas where they were given their freedom.
In 1831 Nat Turner led a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia.
In 1848 Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and made more than 20 trips to the South to lead more than 300 slaves to freedom. She conducted the ‘Underground Railroad’ and became a threat to the entire system of slavery. A $40,000 reward was posted for her capture.
In 1892 Francis E.W. Harper became the first Black woman to publish a novel.
In 1862 Ida B. Wells Barnett was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi and became the funding
member of the NAACP and leader of anti-lynching crusades.
From 1889 to 1922 there were 3,436 recorded lynchings of Blacks in the U.S.
In 1935 Frederick McKinley Jones built the first automatic refrigeration system for long haul trucks. The system was later adapted for all carriers, including ships. Other patents include, an air conditioning unit for military field hospitals; a portable X-Ray machine, and a refrigerator for military field kitchens.
In 1994 Etha Gray, author of this work, wrote her first musical comedy, "Club Renaissance", in May.
In 1860 Blacks that had migrated to Victoria, Canada organized the first authorized all-Black
military force in Western Canada. It was called the "Pioneer Rifle Corps."
In 1784 New Jersey Legislature freed all Blacks who fought in the Revolutionary War.
In 1872 Elijah McCoy was a fireman on the railroad and his job was to shovel coal onto the fire in the engine and to oil its moving parts. After experimenting with ways to lubricate engines, he invented the lubricating cup. From 1872 to 1891 he invented several other lubricating machines. Because of his many useful inventions, America coined the phrase, “Is this the real McCoy?”
In 1863 On January 3rd, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Declaration which legally and officially declared an end to slavery. However, some scholars say that it was only a military tactic to help the North win the Civil War. The good news of the signing of the Proclamation did not reach Texas until a ship docked at Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1863. It spread like wildfire throughout the state. Black Americans have celebrated that day of freedom until present day.
In 1939 Dr. Ernest E. Just, a biologist and pioneer investigator of egg fertilization, artificial parthenogenesis and cell division, published a book titled "The Biology of the Cell Surface. Much of his research have only recently been confirmed.
In 1800 The U. S. Census listed 1,002,037 Blacks among the American population
In 1799 The first recorded minstrel performance took place on the stage of the Federal Street Theater in Boston.
In 1934 Arthur W. Mitchell became the first Black Democratic Congressman. Blacks that previously held
Congressional positions were all members of the Republican party.
In 1897 Black inventor G. W. Kelley received a patent for a steam table.
In 1877 Garret Morgan was born. Firefighters of today owe thanks to his invention. He invented the "gas inhaler", a prototype of today's gas mask. After rescuing workers from a gas-filled tunnel, orders for the inhalator poured in from fire companies across the nation. After his identity became known, many of them canceled their orders. The gas mask was widely used during W.W.I by combat troops. Due to the success of his inhalator, he was paid $40,000 by General Electric for his automatic traffic signal. His first invention was an improvement on the sewing machine, which he sold for $150.
In 1939 Black scientist, Dr. George E. Carruthers was born. He developed the first moon-based space observatory with a ultraviolet camera spectrograph that was carried to the lunar surface aboard Apollo 16.
In 1841 Elijah Abel, a Utah pioneer, was the first Black to enter the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was ordained.
In 1919 Alice Parker was the first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent. She designed a heating furnace that operated on gas instead of coal.
In 1799 The "Father of Russian Poetry," Alexander Pushkin, was born and was the grandson
of an African slave.
In 1832 Alabama placed a fine of $250 to $500 on anyone found teaching a Black person, slave
or free, to read or write.
In 1843 Black explorer and farmer, George Bush, led the first colony of American settlers to the
shores of Puget Sound.
In 1834 On October 14, 1834, Henry Blair of Maryland was granted a patent for a corn-planting machine. Two years later he received a second patent for a device used to plant cotton.
In 1897 Andrew J. Beard received $50,000 for a patent of the "Jenny Coupler", an automatic device used by the railroad system which secures two cars together by merely bumping them together. This invention saved the lives and limbs of railroad workers.
In 1885 Granville T. Woods took out a patent for "an apparatus for transmission of messages by electricity".
In 1887 He submitted a patent for the "improvement in telephone systems apparatus". Some scholars believe that Woods plans for the telephone were given to Bell by Latimer whereby Bell filed the patent before Woods. Mr. Woods invented the railroad brake apparatus; the railroad communication and signal system and the steam boiler. Black inventor Lewis Latimer was a draftsman for Alexander Graham Bell and drew the plans for Bell's telephone. Latimer had worked for Granville T. Woods prior to working with Bell.
In 1968 The first Black quarterback in the American Football League was Marlin Briscoe who played with the Denver Broncos.
in 1970 Black political activist Angela Davis was arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder and kidnap. Her case was one of the most publicized in American history, receiving international attention. Ms. Davis was tried and acquitted of all charges.
in 1963 The first Black artist to design a U.S. postage stamp was George Olden. He designed the stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
in 1831 The First Annual Convention of the People of Color was held in Philadelphia
in 1976 Paul Robeson, internationally acclaimed human rights advocate, singer, actor and athlete died
in 1787 The first African Free School was opened in New York .
in 1961 Leontyne Price made her debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera .
In 1884 William Purvis patented a machine for making paper bags.
in 1858. The first published play by a Black was written by William Wells Brown entitled "The Escape; or "Leap to Freedom, and was published
In 1967 Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway headed the all-Black Broadway production of Hello Dolly.
Ms. Etha Gray, author of this work, interviewed Miss Bailey in 1963, in Houston, TX
In 1973 Tougaloo College of Mississippi awarded blues singer B. B. King an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree for his musical contributions.
In 1853 The first Black Y.M.C.A was organized in Washington, DC
In 1955 Marian Anderson made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House.
In 1935 Chemist, Dr. Percy L. Julian, with 86 patents is widely known for his research in derivative drugs used for arthritis sufferers, he synthesized the drug physostigmine, used today for glaucoma treatment. Further research with the soybean lowered the cost of sterols, resulting in today’s’ cortisone.
In 1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the world's first successful heart operation
In 1793 Black scientist Benjamin Banneker proposed in his Almanac that the US appoint a Secretary of Peace.
In 1889 Leonard C. Bailey patented the folding bed July 18.
In 1897 On May 4, The automatic lawn sprinkler so enjoyed today is the outgrowth of the lawn sprinkler patented by J. H. Smith.
In 1897 J.H. Evans patented the convertible sofa October 5,
In 1896 Charles Brooks invented the street sweeper March 17, 1896.
In 1892 The window washer's job was helped along by the patent of the `window cleaner' patented September 27, by A. L. Lewis. It is also known today as the Squeegee.
In 1884 The egg beater was patented by W. Johnson, February 6.
In 1887 Black American Alexander Miles patented the elevator October 11.
In 1899 John F. Pickering patented the Air Ship February 20.
In 1968 Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN.
In 1837 Virginia exported approximately 120,000 slaves to various parts of the South.
In 1830 Slavery was abolished in all of the Northern States.
In 1830 James Augustine Healy was born and became the first Black Roman Catholic Bishop in America.
In 1838 David Ruggles, a Black abolitionist leader, published one of the first Black periodicals, The Mirror of
Liberty.
In 1880 Henry E. Baker was a Black examiner who worked in the U.S. Patent office. He compiled a four volume work on Black inventors and found that between 1834 and 1900 at least 341 patents were issued to Black patentees.
In 1884 The lantern, which has been a boon to the outdoorsman was patented August 19, by
M. C. Harney.
in 1973 Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT in 1973.
In 1983 Col. Guion Bluford is the first African-American Astronaut to fly in space. He was also, among the first crew to perish in outer space in August of that year.
In 1890 W. B. Purvis revolutionized written communications with his patent of the Fountain Pen January 7.
In 1897 Tired of dull pencil lead, J. L. Love patented the pencil sharpener November 23.
In 1799 The first recorded minstrel performance took place on the stage of the Federal Street Theater in Boston.
In 1897 G. W. Kelley revolutionized food service industry with his patent of the steam table October 26.
In 1883 Jan Matzeliger, Born in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, revolutionized the shoe industry with his March 10 invention of a method for lasting shoes. His patented device could adjust a shoe, arrange the leather over the sole, drive in the nails, and deliver the finished product in one minute's time. As a result, the price of shoes was reduced by 50%, wages doubled, working conditions improved for workers in the shoe industry. He died at 37 and never realized a cent from his invention.
In 1808 The African Benevolent Society was formed.
In 1911 St. Clair Drake, was born and became a distinguished African American anthropologist.
In 1831 The abolitionist newspaper, the Liberator was first printed.
In 1915 Historian John Hope Franklin was born .
In 1920 The National Negro Baseball League was organized by Andrew Foster.
In 1911 The Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity was chartered as a national organization.
In 1966 Harold R. Perry was named the second African American Roman Catholic bishop in US history.
In 1866 Fisk University was founded in Nashville, Tenn.
In 1971 The Congressional Black Caucus was organized.
UNDATED EVENTS:
Performing 500 kidney transplants, Dr. Samuel L. Kountz became an international leader in transplant surgery. He discovered that large amounts of the drug methylprednisone helped reverse rejection of kidney transplants. He made medical history by transplanting a kidney from mother to daughter: The first transplant between humans who were not identical twins.
During slavery, Benjamin Montgomery, slave of Jefferson Davis, invented a boat propeller. US laws prevented slaves from receiving patents during that time and Montgomery was never able to patent his invention.
Dr. William A. Hinton of Chicago, developed the Hinton Test used universally for the detection of syphilis.
The first black woman to graduate college in America was Fannie M. Jackson Coppin.
During the Civil War, 200,000 Blacks served in the Union Army.
The entire 369th infantry, an all-Black unit organized during World War I, received the Croix de guerre for valor demonstrated during the war.
The all-Black U.S. Tenth Cavalry participated in the capture of Apache Chief Geronimo and the capture of Billy, the Kid.
The first U.S. jury to have both white and Black jurists was impaneled during the Reconstruction era to try the former president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis. Davis was, however, released without trial.
A slave named Philip Reed was the principle mason involved in the erection of The Statue of Freedom which sits on top of the Capitol Building in Washington, D. C.
During the Civil War, sixteen Black soldiers and five Black sailors were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Scottsboro Case of the 1930's, nine Black youths were sentenced to death for allegedly raping two white women. The case won International attention and after many years and numerous appeals, the defendants were acquitted.
Benjamin Banneker invented the first clock made in America. The wooden striking clock kept perfect time, striking each hour for over 20 years. With his eighth-grade education, he predicted solar eclipse of 1789; published the first scientific book written by a Black American in the form of The Almanac in 1795 which included tide tables; data on future eclipses; useful medicinal products and formulas; and helped lay out the blueprint for Washington, D.C.
At the beginning of the Civil War Blacks were officially excluded from the Armed Forces by both the Federal and Confederate Governments.
William Henry Lane, aka, "Juba" perfected the tap dance in the early 1800's. He made tap
an artistically recognized form of entertainment.
The all-Black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment, raised during the Civil War was the first to protest the unequal salaries of Black and white soldiers.
The Anti-Aircraft gun used in W.W. II was patented by Henry Blair.
While working as a laboratory assistant, testing automatic controls for airplanes, Otis Boykin, born in 1920, invented: a resistor presently used in computers, radios, & TV's; a variable resister for guided missiles; thick-film resistor for computers: developed a control for artificial heart stimulators; a burglar-proof cash register and chemical air filter.
Engineer, David N. Crosthwait, Jr.(1898-1976), born in Nashville, TN, received his BS & MS from Purdue University, patented: the automatic water feeder - 1920; automobile indicator - 1921; a thermostat-setting apparatus 1928; a vacuum heating system 1929; and the vacuum pump 1930.
Dr. Charles Drew (1904-1950), perfected a means of preserving and shipping blood plasma, leading to the establishment of blood banks throughout the world. The British Government recruited him to set up the first blood bank in England. During W.W.II, he was appointed director of the American Red Cross blood donor project. Ironically, injured in a car accident he died when the attending hospital physician refused him a blood transfusion because of the color of his skin.
Lloyd Augustus Hall discovered the use of curing salts for preserving and processing meats,
revolutionizing the meat industry. He registered 100 patents.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What will we leave behind for future generations? Will it be just footprints or a clear path to the future?
