Prominent West Virginia newspaper publisher and politician Matthew Thomas Whittico was born near Martinsville, in Henry County, Virginia, on September 25, 1866. His father, Hezekiah J. Whittico, was a farmer and was the son of Thomas and Catherine Whittico. Under a statute of the period, … Read MoreMatthew T. Whittico (1866-1939)
John Edmonstone was a Guyanese-born enslaved person and taxidermist who later became a taxidermy teacher in Edinburgh, Scotland. Edmonstone was best known as a mentor of young Charles Robert Darwin, who would become a renowned naturalist and geologist. Edmonstone was born into slavery on a … Read MoreJohn Edmonstone (? – ?)
Arizona Fleming was a small business owner who became part of the Civil Rights Movement in Fort Bend County, Texas. Fleming was born in Richmond, Texas on March 23, 1884, to Laura and Beauregard Fleming. Not much is known about her life. After attending segregated … Read MoreArizona Fleming (1884-1976)
William Henry West was a Civil War-era African American soldier and later a police officer in Washington, D.C. West was best known for arresting U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. This is the only known record of a sitting United States President being arrested. … Read MoreWilliam Henry West (1842-1915)
Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro was an Afro-Peruvian army officer who served as the 41st President of Peru from 1931 to 1933. Sánchez was the first person of Afro-Peruvian descent to become the nation’s president. Born on August 12, 1889, to Antonio Sánchez and Rosa Cerro, … Read MoreLuis Miguel Sánchez Cerro (1889-1933)
Tomás Estrada Palma, an attorney, was born on July 6, 1835, in Bayamo, Oriente Province in then Spanish Cuba, to Dr. Andrés Duque de Estrada y Palma and Maria Candelaria de Palma y Tamayo. Tomás had two sisters, Margarita Duque de Estrada y Tamayo and … Read MoreTomás Estrada Palma (1835-1908)
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez was one of the founders of the independent Dominican Republic. He was born on March 9, 1817, in Santo Domingo. His parents were Narcisco Sánchez Ramon, a “pardo” (brown person) and Olaya del Rosario de Belen, a white woman from the … Read MoreFrancisco del Rosario Sánchez (1817-1861)
Isaac Lane was born March 4, 1834, in Madison County, five miles from the city of Jackson, Tennessee. His mother, Rachel, was an enslaved person belonging to his master and white father, Cullen Lane. Virtually abandoned by his parents, Lane suffered many of the harsh … Read MoreIsaac Lane (1834-1937)
King Sobhuza II was the first ruler of independent Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). He was born on July 22, 1899, at Zombodze in the British protectorate of Swaziland. His parents were Inkhosikati Lomawa Ndwandwe and King Ngwane V. He was given the name Nkhotfotjni. On September … Read MoreKing Sobhuza II (1899-1982)
Born in Chicago, Illinois in the early 1800s Daniel McCree is best known for patenting of the portable fire escape ladder. Very little is known about his childhood or personal life or when and where he died. On May 2, 1890, McCree filed Patent No. … Read MoreDaniel McCree (1800?- ?)
