African investment banker Tidjane Thiam who was co-CEO of Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2020, was born one of seven children into a politically prominent family in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) on July 29, 1962. His father, Amadou Anna Thiam, was a journalist and … Read MoreTidjane Thiam (1962- )
Tireless adoption advocate and civil rights activist Mabel T. Grammer was born on December 23, 1913, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the granddaughter of slaves and one of the seven children of Pearl and Edward Treadwell. Her father, who worked as a bellhop, died when she … Read MoreMabel Treadwell Grammer (1913-2002)
Arabella Fields was a singer and actress known as “The Black Nightingale” and had a storied career performing in Europe. She was born on January 31, 1879, as Sarah Arabella Middleton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early reports state she was performing at the young age of … Read MoreArabella Fields (1879-1933)
Theodore Kenneth “T.K.” Lawless, MD was an internationally-known dermatologist who helped pioneer techniques to treat syphilis and was one of the first doctors to treat cancer with radium. A millionaire, Dr. Lawless built his wealth over decades and was recognized for his significant contributions as … Read MoreTheodore Kenneth Lawless (1892-1971)
Aida Cartagena was a prominent Afro-Latina poet, novelist, scholar, and public intellectual. She was born in Moca, Dominican Republic on June 18, 1918, and died at the age of seventy-five on June 3, 1994. Aida was the daughter of Olimpia Portalatin and Felipe Cartagena Estrella. … Read MoreAida Cartagena Portalatin (1918-1994)
Popular singer Dionne Warwick was born Marie Dionne Warrick on December 12, 1940, in East Orange, New Jersey, to Mantrel Warrick, a Pullman porter, chef, and promoter and distributor of recorded music, and Lee Warrick, who managed the gospel group, Drinkard Singers. Warwick was singing … Read MoreDionne Warwick (1940- )
Composer, librettist, saxophonist Anthony Braxton was born on June 4, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois, to Clarence Dunbar Braxton, Sr., from Greenville, Mississippi, and Julia Samuels Braxton from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Braxton had three brothers. Braxton grew up in Chicago and from 1959 to 1963, he attended … Read MoreAnthony Braxton (1945- )
Activist, writer, and educator Margaret Just Butcher was born on April 28, 1913, in Washington, DC, to Dr. Ernest E. Just, the renowned scientist and advisor and incorporator of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. from Charleston, South Carolina, and Ethel Highwarden, one of the … Read MoreMargaret Just Butcher (1913-2000)
Sloane Stephens is an American tennis player, born in Plantation, Florida on March 20, 1993. Her father John played for the New England Patriots, and her mother Sybil (Smith) was the first woman to be named a first team All-American swimmer in Division one history. … Read MoreSloane Stephens (1993- )
Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was a prolific painter who achieved fame in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and abroad. She also developed her original style which challenged the major trends in Soviet-era art. Arkhipova’s father was Frederick Bruce Thomas, widely known before the Russian Revolution … Read MoreLydia Fedorovna Arkhipova (1914-1997)
