Elizabeth Catlett Mora was a prominent black political expressionist sculptor and printmaker in the 1960s and 1970s. Catlett was born to John and Mary Catlett who were public school teachers in Washington, D.C. She was the youngest of three children. After graduating from Dunbar High … Read MoreElizabeth Catlett (1915-2012)
Businesswoman and entertainer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, known as the Mother of Blues, was the most popular blues singer/ songwriter of the 1920s. She is considered to be the first woman to introduce blues into her performances. As a single woman, she established her own entertainment … Read MoreGertrude “Ma” Rainey (1886-1939)
Lillian E. Fishburne, the first African American woman to become a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, was born on March 25, 1949 in Patuxent River, Maryland. Fishburne was raised in Rockville, Maryland where she attended Richard Montgomery High School. In 1971, she graduated … Read MoreLillian E. Fishburne (1949- )
In 1875, Oliver Lewis became the first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, America’s longest continuous sporting event. Lewis was born in 1856 in Fayette Country, Kentucky, to his parents Goodson and Eleanor Lewis. Lewis was born free, but there is little known about his … Read MoreOliver Lewis (1856-1924)
Robert Louis Johnson, founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is also the majority owner of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the first African American billionaire. He was born in Hickory, Mississippi in … Read MoreRobert Louis Johnson (1946- )
Sarah Elisabeth Goode was one of the first African-American women to obtain a patent from the United States government in 1885. She shares the distinction with Judy Reed, who invented a dough-kneading machine that was patented in 1880, and Miriam Benjamin, who received a patent … Read MoreSarah E. Goode (c.1855?-1905)
Debi Thomas is a figure skater and physician, and the first African American woman to win a medal in the Winter Olympics. Thomas was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1967 and first started skating around the age of five. However she did not get … Read MoreDebi Thomas (1967- )
George Poage ran track in the 1904 Olympic Games and was the first African American to ever win an Olympic medal. Poage was born in Hannibal, Missouri on November 6, 1880, but spent most of his childhood growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a … Read MoreGeorge Coleman Poage (1880-1962)
Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., was the first African American selected to be an astronaut. He was also a test pilot and senior United States Air Force pilot with over 2,500 flight hours. Born in Chicago, Illinois on October 2, 1935, Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. graduated … Read MoreRobert Henry Lawrence Jr. (1935-1967)
