Mathematical physicist and university administrator Arlie O. Petters was born in the Central American city of Dangriga in the nation of Belize (formerly British Honduras) on February 21, 1964, the son of civil engineer Oswald Vasquez. His mother, Velina, left him when he was a child to work in the … Read MoreArlie Oswald Petters (1964- )
Award-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed was born in Livingston, Texas, on November 19, 1958, the daughter of military veteran Alfred Gordon Sr. and Bettye Jean Gordon, an English teacher. As a girl who loved to read and write and was fascinated by the family of Thomas Jefferson, something that … Read MoreAnnette Gordon-Reed (1958- )
The violent, heroic actions of an illiterate black sailor threatened with enslavement enthralled newspaper and magazine readers during the tense early phase of the American Civil War. Born free in Milford, Delaware—a state that permitted slavery but had a relatively small slave population—William B. Tillman found opportunity as a … Read MoreWilliam B. Tillman (a.k.a. William Tilghman, 1834?-1880?)
David L. Lewis is a twice Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. He was born on May 25, 1936 in Little Rock, Arkansas to John Henry Lewis, Sr., a Yale Divinity School graduate and college president, and the former Alice Urnestine Bell, a public school math teacher. He … Read MoreDavid Levering Lewis (1936- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Physicist and university administrator Robert Ambrose Thornton was born in Houston, Texas, on May 6, 1902 to Frank Thornton, a laborer, and the former Mary Jane Sullivan, a midwife. Thornton attended Houston Colored High School but later graduated from Los Angeles … Read MoreRobert Ambrose Thornton (1902-1982)
Amy Holmes is a news anchor and political commentator who appeared on Glenn Beck’s The Blaze TV, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Holmes was born on July 25, 1973 in Lusaka, Zambia to an African father and white mother from Seattle, Washington. Her parents divorced … Read MoreAmy Holmes (1973- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Aja Brown serves as the youngest and first female mayor of Compton, California. Brown was born in Altadena, California, to Brenda Jackson on April 17, 1982. Brown attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and was elected president of her senior … Read MoreAja Brown (1982- )
Sophia Angeli Nelson is an author, journalist, lawyer, and political strategist. Nelson was born on January 5, 1967, in Munich, Germany, where her father served overseas in the U.S. Army. She was raised in Somerdale, New Jersey, and attended San Diego State University (SDSU) in … Read MoreSophia Angeli Nelson (1967- )
Darryl Dawkins (also known as Chocolate Thunder—a name music legend Stevie Wonder gave him), was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957. Born to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins, he was raised by his grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, in Orlando where he attended Maynard … Read MoreDarryl Dawkins (1957-2015)
Rubin Carter was an American middleweight boxer, who is best known not because of his sports career but because of his murder conviction in 1967 and exoneration in 1985. Carter, born in Clifton, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, the fourth of seven children. Shortly … Read MoreRubin “The Hurricane” Carter (1937-2014)
