Robert Fikes, Author at • Page 18 of 26

Independent Historian

Robert Fikes, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee University, earned graduate degrees in modern European history and library science at the University of Minnesota. Retired since 2017, he worked as a reference librarian at San Diego State University where he was also a subject bibliographer for Africana Studies, European, American, Middle Eastern, and African history. Fikes has published numerous journal articles, essays, encyclopedia entries, newspaper and magazine contributions, bibliographies, and several print and online books pertaining to history, art, and literature.

John Henry Smythe (1915-1996)

Jurist and Royal Air Force (RAF) Flight Lieutenant John “Johnny” Henry Smythe was born on June 30, 1915, in the West African port city of Freetown, Sierra Leone. He received a grammar school education and had worked as a civil servant before joining the Sierra … Read MoreJohn Henry Smythe (1915-1996)

Marcia A. Santacruz Palacios (1977–)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Human rights activist and political scientist Marcia Alexandra Santacruz Palacios was born in Puerto Tejada, northern Cauca, Colombia, an area exploited by mining companies and whose largely poor Africa-descended population has resided for four centuries alongside indigenous peoples. Aware of the … Read MoreMarcia A. Santacruz Palacios (1977–)

Oscar Wayman Holmes Jr. (1916-2001)

Oscar Wayman Holmes Jr., the first African American commissioned officer in the United States Navy and its first black aircraft pilot, was also the first black air traffic controller. Born January 31, 1916, he was the son of Oscar Sr. and Grace Holmes of Dunbar, … Read MoreOscar Wayman Holmes Jr. (1916-2001)

Ahmet Ali Çelikten (1883-1969)

Believed to be the first military aircraft pilot of African descent, Ahmet Ali Çelikten (birth name, zmirli Aliolu Ahmed, a/k/a Arap Ahmet Ali) was born in the coastal city of Izmir (formerly Smyrna), Turkey. Some sources claim he was the grandson of a concubine slave … Read MoreAhmet Ali Çelikten (1883-1969)

Jean-Baptiste Belley-Mars (ca. 1747-ca. 1805)

Jean-Baptiste Belley-Mars, who represented Saint-Domingue in the French National Convention in Paris in 1794, is widely credited with persuading that body to abolish slavery in France and its overseas colonies. Belley-Mars as a boy was kidnapped by slave catchers on the island of Goree near … Read MoreJean-Baptiste Belley-Mars (ca. 1747-ca. 1805)

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (1760-1832)

One of the few painters from the Americas with a degree of African ancestry who was active in the 1800s and has representative works in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France is Guillaume Guillon-Lethière. Born January 10, 1760, near Sainte-Anne on the island of Guadeloupe … Read MoreGuillaume Guillon-Lethière (1760-1832)

Giorgio Marincola (1923-1945)

Anti-fascist Afro-Italian partisan Giorgio Marincola lived a brief but heroic life. Born September 23, 1923, in the south central coastal town of Mahaday in what was then called Italian Somaliland, he was the son of Italian military officer Joseph Marincola and a Somali woman, Aschiro … Read MoreGiorgio Marincola (1923-1945)

José Manuel Jiménez Berroa (1855–1917)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Concert pianist, composer, and music conservatory director José Manuel Jiménez Berroa was born on December 7, 1855, into a musical family in Trinidad, Cuba, a city on the central coast known for its mainly African-descended population, sugar mills, and tobacco production. … Read MoreJosé Manuel Jiménez Berroa (1855–1917)

François Fournier de Pescay (1771–1833)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Francois Fournier de Pescay was the first known African-descended physician to practice medicine and surgery in Europe. Fournier de Pescay, the son of French planter François Pescay and Adélaïde Rappau, a free mulatto (mulâtresse libre), was born on September 7, 1771 … Read MoreFrançois Fournier de Pescay (1771–1833)

Jack J. Kimbrough (1908–1992)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Civil rights activist, dentist, book and African art collector Jack Johnson Kimbrough was born in Lexington, Mississippi, on July 26, 1908, to Samuel G. Kimbrough, a blacksmith, and Mary (Hoover) Kimbrough. Fearing violence from the Ku Klux Klan, in 1915 the … Read MoreJack J. Kimbrough (1908–1992)