Richard Bowie Spikes was a prolific inventor with eight patents to his name, awarded between 1907 and 1946. Primarily interested in automobile mechanics, Spikes also sought to improve the operation of items as varied as barber chairs and trolley cars. Professionally, he worked as a mechanic, … Read MoreRichard Spikes (1878-1965)
Four-star general and precision flier Lloyd W. Newton was born December 24, 1942 in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the fourth of seven children of John H. Newton, a farmer, and Annie Newton. Finishing Jasper High School in Ridgeland, he majored in mechanical engineering at Tennessee State … Read MoreLloyd Warren Newton (1942- )
Image Ownership: Liz Margerum/Reno Gazette-Journal Maurice E. Washington is a Reno, Nevada businessman and pastor who is best known as a former Republican member of the Nevada State Senate. Washington was born on July 25, 1956, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He moved to Nevada where … Read MoreMaurice E. Washington (1956- )
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Gustavo “Gus” Fring on the AMC TV series Breaking Bad, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award and was nominated for an outstanding Supporting … Read MoreGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (1958– )
Roger D. Pierce, U.S. Ambassador to Cape Verde, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Pierce earned his B.A. degree in Spanish Language and Latin American Studies at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. He received his M.A. in Latin American Literature at the University … Read MoreRoger Dwayne Pierce (1951- )
“Image Ownership: University of Kansas” On November 16, 1999 President William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton nominated Delano Eugene Lewis to be the United States Ambassador to South Africa. Lewis was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and served in that capacity from 1999 to 2001. Having spent … Read MoreDelano Eugene Lewis (1938 – )
Eddie Gardner Crossing the Mississippi River at St. Louis, 1929 “Image Courtesty of Charles Kastner” In the following account, sports historian Charles Kastner describes the remarkable athletic career of Eddie “the Sheik” Gardner of Seattle, Washington. Gardner was arguably the greatest ultramarathoner in Pacific Northwest … Read MoreEddie “the Sheik” Gardner: An Ultramarathoning Legend and Unsung Hero in the Struggle for Racial Equality in America.
“Image Ownership: Joseph C. Yaroch (CC BY-SA 4.0)” In 1911 a group of African Americans and Hispanics joined to build a small chapel, one of the first for the town of Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory. Their church, Phillips Chapel Colored Methodist Episcopal (now Christian … Read MorePhillips Chapel CME Church, Las Cruces, New Mexico (1911- )
Arriving in Albuquerque, New Mexico Territory, in 1898, Mrs. Tabytha Watson began the organization of a Baptist church with prayer meetings which included her two children, in her home. By the following year the church was named Mt. Olive Baptist and members raised $135 to … Read MoreMt. Olive Baptist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1899- )
Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first black church in New Mexico and was organized during the state’s territorial period. Although New Mexico Territory had a few slaves before the Civil War, African Americans began arriving in the region in significant numbers … Read MoreGrant Chapel AME Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1883- )
