Dr. Lawrence Howland Knox, noted chemist, was born on September 30, 1906 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to William Jacob and Estella Knox. Knox was one of five children, two girls and three boys, and remarkably for that time, all of the boys earned PhDs; the … Read MoreLawrence Howland Knox (1906-1966)
Civic and educational leader Gloria Dean Randle Scott, the first African-American president of the Girl Scouts of America and the twelfth president of Bennett College, was born on April 14, 1938 in Houston, Texas to Juanita Bell and Freeman Randle. Scott grew up in Houston, … Read MoreGloria Dean Randle Scott (1938- )
Born May 31, 1918 in Philadelphia, Lloyd Albert Quarterman, a chemist, was one of the few African American scientists and technicians to work on the Manhattan Project, the top secret effort to design and build the atomic bomb during World War II. Quarterman developed an interest in … Read MoreLloyd Albert Quarterman (1918-1982)
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on January 5, 1904, William Knox is remembered for two achievements. He was among a handful of black scientists to work on the top secret Manhattan Project, which produced the atom bomb during World War II. Following the war, he … Read MoreWilliam Jacob Knox Jr. (1904-1995)
Educator and Sociologist Charles Eric Lincoln was born June 23, 1924 in Athens, Alabama. After he was abandoned by his parents, Lincoln was raised by his maternal grandparents. He attended the Trinity School in Athens, an institution created by the New England-based Congregational Church to … Read MoreC. Eric Lincoln (1924-2000)
Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on April 15, 1912, Jasper Brown Jeffries was an African American physicist and mathematician who worked on the Manhattan Project in World War II. The eldest child of Brown and Edna Jeffries, Jasper had three younger brothers, Carl, Hubert, and Robert. … Read MoreJasper Brown Jeffries (1912-1994)
Born on July 3, 1919 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, Samuel Proctor Massie was as one of the few African American scientists to work on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He later became a distinguished professor of chemistry. Massie graduated from Dunbar High … Read MoreSamuel P. Massie (1919-2005)
Image Ownership: Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project (Fair Use) Clergyman and civil rights activist John Hurst Adams was born November 27, 1927 in Columbia, South Carolina to Reverend E.A. Adams and homemaker Charity Nash Adams. John Adams graduated from Booker T. Washington … Read MoreJohn H. Adams (1927– )
Educator and theologian Samuel DeWitt Proctor was born in Norfolk, Virginia on July 13, 1921. Both of his grandparents had received a university education, which was considered unusual for the time. Proctor as a child attended the Congregational Church in Norfolk founded by his great-grandfather, … Read MoreSamuel DeWitt Proctor (1921-1997)
