Emanuel, or Manuel, Lopes was Seattle, Washington’s first black resident. He came to Washington Territory and this small frontier town of fewer than 180 non-indigenous residents in 1858, seven years after its founding. He opened a restaurant and barbershop, soon establishing himself as an independent … Read MoreEmanuel Lopes (1812-1895)
Alfred McCoy Tyner was a Jazz pianist who was best known for his association with the John Coltrane Quartet. Tyner held a strong commitment to the acoustic piano, while other musicians adopted the electric keyboards and synthesizers. He was left-handed and played with a low … Read MoreMcCoy Tyner (1938-2020)
During the American Civil War, Fort Wagner was a Confederate stronghold that protected the harbor of Charleston, then the largest city in South Carolina. The fortress walls were made of sand and earth, and stood over 30 feet tall, and the fort itself was protected … Read MoreThe Second Battle of Fort Wagner (1863)
Alice Sampson Presto, suffragist and clubwoman, became the first African American woman to run for public office in Washington state. Presto was born around 1879 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Franklin and Martha A. Sampson. Few records exist of her early life except that she had … Read MoreAlice S. Presto (ca. 1879- ?)
Research scientist Jane Hinton was born on May 1, 1919 in Canton, Massachusetts. Her mother, Ada (Hawes) Hinton, was a former teacher, and her father, William Augustus Hinton, was a bacteriologist and one of the most prominent African American medical researchers of his era. In … Read MoreJane Hinton (1919-2003)
John Macklin is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle, since his retirement in 2005. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas on December 11, 1939. He moved to Seattle in the mid-1940s and was raised there by parents Albert B. … Read MoreJohn W. Macklin (1939- )
Marion Stokes, best known for her collection of television news recordings, was born on November 25, 1929 in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Girls High in Philadelphia and worked as a librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia from the 1940’s … Read MoreMarion Marguerite Butler Stokes (1929-2012)
Mathematician Floyd Leroy Williams was born on September 20, 1939 in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended his local schools, and in his senior year of high school, he was offered a scholarship to Lincoln University of Missouri to study music. Williams studied Classical Piano and … Read MoreFloyd Leroy Williams (1939- )
Aerospace engineer Wesley Leroy Harris was born on October 29, 1941 in Richmond, Virginia. His parents, Rosa Minor and William Harris, were both workers in local tobacco factories. Harris graduated from Richmond’s Armstrong High School in 1960. He then married his high school sweetheart and … Read MoreDr. Wesley Leroy Harris (1941- )
