Georgia E. Lee Patton, physician and missionary, was born a slave in Grundy County, Tennessee. Her father died before her birth, leaving her mother to care for Patton and her siblings. After moving to Coffee County, Tennessee in 1866, her mother supported the family by … Read MoreGeorgia E.L. Patton (1864-1900)
Architect and educator Robert Robinson Taylor was the first African American to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the father of architect and Chicago, Illinois business leader Robert Rochon Taylor (1899-1957) and the great-grandfather of Valerie Jarrett (1956- ), senior advisor … Read MoreRobert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942)
Samuel Kanyon Doe, army officer and Master Sergeant, was the unelected President of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. Notorious for his human rights violations, Doe seized control of Liberia in April of 1980 through a bloody coup. A polarizing figure throughout his tenure, Doe was … Read MoreSamuel Kanyon Doe (1951-1990)
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman, an Americo-Liberian, served 27 years as President of Liberia, longer than any president before or after him. Tubman, who is regarded by some in his country as the “father of modern Liberia,” was born on November 29, 1895 in Harper, Liberia. … Read MoreWilliam V. S. Tubman (1895-1971)
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, one of the five fraternities for African American men, was founded on November 17, 1911 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first African American fraternity established at a historically black college. The three founders—Edgar … Read MoreOmega Psi Phi Fraternity (1911- )
Charles McArthur Taylor, born on January 28, 1948, in Arthington, Liberia, served as the president of Liberia from August 2, 1997, to August 11, 2003. Born to Nelson and Bernice Taylor, his mother was part of the Gola tribe, and his father was claimed to … Read MoreCharles M. Taylor (1948- )
Warrior king, empire builder and hero of the resistance against the French colonization of West Africa during the 19th century, Samori Touré was born around 1830 in the Milo River Valley in present-day Guinea. His father was a trader, leading Touré to follow his family’s … Read MoreSamori Touré (1830-1900)
The Partition of Africa began in earnest with the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, and was the cause of most of Africa’s borders today. This conference was called by German Chancellor Bismarck to settle how European countries would claim colonial land in Africa and to avoid … Read MoreThe Partition of Africa
The American Colonization Society (ACS), also known as the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color in the United States, emerged in 1816 as a national organization dedicated to promoting the manumission of the enslaved and the settlement of free blacks in West … Read MoreAmerican Colonization Society (1816-1964)
Samuel Cornish, an abolitionist and editor, was born in Sussex County, Delaware in 1795, although the specific day and month are unknown. He was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City, New York. Since both of his parents were free African Americans, Cornish was … Read MoreSamuel Eli Cornish (1795-1858)
