Chinua Achebe of Nigeria was one of the most famous 20th Century African writers. He published his first novel Things Fall Apart in 1958 and has since published four more novels and a series of short stories, essays, and other literature. Much of Achebe’s work … Read MoreChinua Achebe (1930-2013)
In 2006 Sophia Danenberg became the first African American and first black woman from anywhere in the world to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest in the Himalayas (Nepal). Sophia Marie Scott was born in 1972 in Homewood, Illinois (a southern suburb … Read MoreSophia Danenberg (1972- )
Edward Park Duplex was elected mayor of Wheatland, California in 1888 to become one of the first African American mayors in the United States and the first in the American West. Born on May 13, 1831 in New Haven, Connecticut to Prince Jr. and Adaline … Read MoreEdward Park Duplex (1831-1900)
Born in Washington, D.C. on April 27, 1969, Cory Booker is currently the United States Senator from New Jersey. Booker was raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey, a mostly white town where his parents Cary and Carolyn Booker, former civil rights activists and pioneer black … Read MoreCory Booker (1969- )
William Henry Ferris was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 20, 1874 to David Henry, a volunteer for the Union Army during the Civil War, and Sarah Anne Jefferson Ferris. After high school, Ferris attended Yale University, where he was heavily influenced by polymath … Read MoreWilliam Henry Ferris (1874-1941)
Ebenezer D. Bassett was appointed U.S. Minister Resident to Haiti in 1869, making him the first African American diplomat. For eight years, the educator, abolitionist, and black rights activist oversaw bilateral relations through bloody civil warfare and coups d’état on the island of Hispaniola. Bassett … Read MoreEbenezer D. Bassett (1833-1908)
David Ruggles, abolitionist, businessman, journalist and hydrotherapist, was born in 1810 in Norwich, Connecticut. He attended the Sabbath School for the poor which admitted people of color starting in 1815. In 1827 he left Connecticut for New York City where he operated a grocery store … Read MoreDavid Ruggles (1810-1849)
The date of birth for Julia Ringwood Coston, one of the first black women to edit a magazine, is unknown. We do know that she was named after Ringwood farm in Warrenton, Virginia, where she was born. While she was still an infant, Ringwood moved … Read MoreJulia Ringwood Coston (?-?)
John E. (Jack) Nail, a successful Harlem, New York realtor, was born in New London, Connecticut in 1883. His parents, Elizabeth and John B. Nail, moved to New York City where the senior Nail bought a hotel, restaurant, and billiard parlor after working for a … Read MoreJohn E. Nail (1883-1947)
Prince Saunders was a prominent advocate for the education of African Americans and for the colonization of African Americans in Haiti during his lifetime. He was born in Connecticut and died in Haiti. Prince Saunders was born around 1775 in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was baptized … Read MorePrince Saunders (1775-1839)
