Believed to be the first military aircraft pilot of African descent, Ahmet Ali Çelikten (birth name, zmirli Aliolu Ahmed, a/k/a Arap Ahmet Ali) was born in the coastal city of Izmir (formerly Smyrna), Turkey. Some sources claim he was the grandson of a concubine slave … Read MoreAhmet Ali Çelikten (1883-1969)
Richard Jones was a decorated military leader, serving in both World Wars I and II, and a United States ambassador. Born Richard Lee Jones on December 21, 1893, in Albany, Georgia, Jones studied at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, where he received a Bachelor’s … Read MoreRichard Lee Jones (1893-1975)
Henry Binga Dismond, a star athlete, medical device inventor, pioneering physician and poet, was born on December 27, 1891, in Richmond, Virginia to Dr. Samuel H. Dismond and Jessie Cornelia Binga. Henry attended Richmond public schools, Virginia Union University, and Howard University, where he graduated … Read MoreHenry Binga Dismond (1891-1956)
Civil rights activist Osceola Enoch (“Mac”) McKaine was born in Sumter, South Carolina on December 17, 1892. In 1908, at the age of 16, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts where he attended classes at Boston College. Later he worked as associate editor of the Cambridge … Read MoreOsceola Enoch McKaine (1892-1955)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Noah Webster Griffin is best known as the first director of the West Coast Regional Office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), established by the national headquarters in 1942. Griffin was born in 1896 to formerly … Read MoreNoah Webster Griffin Sr. (1896-1974)
Often referred to as “Mr. Jazz Himself,” Lieutenant James Tim Brymn was a conductor, a musical director of several George Walker and Bert Williams Shows, and bandleader of the all African American 350th Field Artillery Regiment Band during World War I. The band was also … Read MoreJames Tim Brymn (1881-1946)
Dr. Matilda Arabelle Evans, black healthcare advocate, was born in Aiken, South Carolina in 1866. The oldest of three, born to Anderson and Harriet Evans, she spent much of the beginning of her life working in the fields with her family. Martha Shoefield, a white … Read MoreMatilda A. Evans (1866-1935)
Myles Anderson Paige, the first African American to be appointed a New York City Criminal Court Judge, was born on July 18, 1898, in Montgomery, Alabama. Paige was a star football player at Howard University, graduating from the Washington D.C. institution with a Bachelor of … Read MoreMyles Anderson Paige (1898-1983)
A.T. Walden (left) Image Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Fair Use) Austin Thomas (A.T.) Walden, a noted attorney and civil rights leader, was one of few African American lawyers in Georgia during early 20th century. Walden was born in Fort Valley, Georgia on April 12, 1885 … Read MoreA.T. Walden (1885-1965)
Academic, leading educator, World War I veteran, and president of Kentucky State College for Colored Persons (later Kentucky State College for Negroes and now Kentucky State University), Rufus Ballard Atwood was born on March 15, 1897 near Hickman, Kentucky. The child of former slaves, Atwood … Read MoreRufus B. Atwood (1897-1963)
