John Hope Franklin, one of the nation’s leading historians, is the only African American who has served as president of both the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Organization of American Historians (OAH). Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma on January 2, 1915 to parents … Read MoreJohn Hope Franklin (1915-2009)
Haile Gebre Selassie is regarded by many observers as the greatest Ethiopian long-distance runner of all time. He was born in the province of Arsi in central Ethiopia and was inspired by runners Abebe Bikila and Miruts Yifter. As a child he was said to … Read MoreHaile Gebre Selassie (1973- )
Sports historian Clay Moyle describes Canadian-born Sam Langford as one of the most successful and yet little known boxers of the 20th Century. In the excerpt below, drawn from his recently publisher book titled Sam Langford: Boxing’s Greatest Uncrowned Champion, Moyle makes his case for … Read MoreSam Langford: History’s Forgotten Boxer
Frederick J. Loudin, teacher, impresario, manufacturer and Fisk Jubilee Singer, had a bass voice the likes of which no one would hear again until the emergence of Roland Hayes and Paul Robeson. At thirty-four, he would become the oldest member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ … Read MoreFrederick J. Loudin (1840-1904)
James Charles Evers, known as Charles, was born on September 11, 1922 in Decatur, Mississippi to parents Jesse Wright and James Evers. Growing up in Mississippi during the era of Jim Crow, Evers witnessed the effects of racial discrimination and prejudice firsthand. At the age … Read MoreJames Charles Evers (1922-2020)
George Dixon, also known as “Little Chocolate,” was born on July 29, 1870 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Standing only 5’ 3 ½” and weighing no more than 118 pounds over the bulk of his career, “Little Chocolate” was described as long armed and skinny legged, … Read MoreGeorge “Little Chocolate” Dixon (1870-1909)
Annie Box Neal was the proprietor and manager of the Mountain View Hotel in Oracle, Arizona, a western mining town in the Catalina Mountains. Her secluded grand resort was recognized as the “epitome of western opulence” in its day and received distinguished guests from Russia, … Read MoreAnnie Box Neal (1870-1950)
Sonia Sanchez was born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama. After her mother’s death in 1935 she lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother taught her to read at age four and write at age six. When her grandmother passed away in 1943 she moved to … Read MoreSonia Sanchez (1934- )
Wesley Brown earned distinction in 1949 as the first African American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. Wesley Brown grew up in Washington, D.C. and attended Dunbar High School. A “voracious reader,” Brown joined the Association for the Study of Negro Life and … Read MoreWesley Brown (1927-2012)
Known affectionately as the Black Ahab, William Thomas Shorey was born on January 25, 1859 on the island of Barbados in the British West Indies. He was the son of a Scottish sugar planter and a West Indian woman of mixed African and European ancestry. … Read MoreWilliam Thomas Shorey (1859-1919)
