Daniel Helton, Author at

Student Historian

Daniel Helton is an undergraduate at the University of Washington. Hailing from Bellevue, WA, he now pursues a degree in geography in Seattle. His writings here are informed by his minor in studies of the African diaspora.

Lisette Titre (1977- )

Lisette Titre is an American video game artist and designer best known for her work as an artist for Electronic Arts. Little is known about her personal life beyond the fact that she was born in 1977. Titre graduated magna cum laude from the Miami International University of Art and … Read MoreLisette Titre (1977- )

William B. Purvis (1838-1914)

William B. Purvis was an American inventor, best known for his patented improvements to the fountain pen in 1890. Purvis was born in Pennsylvania to Joseph and Sarah Purvis on August 12, 1838, as one of eight children. He was related to two prominent anti-slavery activists; his grandfather … Read MoreWilliam B. Purvis (1838-1914)

Sarah Boone (1832-1904)

ENTRY SPONSOR: Quintard Taylor Sarah Boone was an American inventor best known for her patented improvements to the ironing board. She was one of the first African American women to receive a patent in United States history. Boone’s legacy was her improved ironing board. The ironing board … Read MoreSarah Boone (1832-1904)

Charles B. Brooks (1865-?)

Charles B. Brooks was an American inventor, who is best known for his patented improvements to the street sweeper in 1896. Very little is known about his early life beyond the fact that he was born in Virginia in 1865. By the 1890s Brooks was living in Newark, New … Read MoreCharles B. Brooks (1865-?)

André Rebouças (1838-1898)

André Pinto Rebouças was a Brazilian engineer and abolitionist, best known for creating one of the world’s first self-propelled torpedoes during the Paraguayan War. Rebouças was born on January 13, 1838 in Cachoeira, Brazil. The son of Antônio Pereira Rebouças, a prominent lawyer and politician and an unidentified black … Read MoreAndré Rebouças (1838-1898)

David Fleming (1962- )

David Fleming III is a brigadier general in the United States Army, who in 2017 became the first African American to be promoted to the rank of general in the Delaware National Guard. Fleming was born in 1962 to David and Huggie Fleming in New Jersey. He joined the … Read MoreDavid Fleming (1962- )

Charles Chappelle (1872-1941)

Charles Ward Chappelle was an American engineer and businessman best known for his award-winning long-distance airplane in 1911 and his tenure as president of the African Union Company from 1913 to 1930. In January of 1911, Chappelle presented at the First Industrial Aero Show, a showcase of aircraft and … Read MoreCharles Chappelle (1872-1941)

Owen Monconduit (1961- )

Owen Monconduit is a retired brigadier general in the United States Army, who in 2009 became the first African American to be promoted to the rank of general in the Louisiana National Guard. Monconduit, a native of Pineville, Louisiana, joined the National Guard in 1980 as part of … Read MoreOwen Monconduit (1961- )