Frederick McKinley Jones was a prolific early 20th century black inventor who helped to revolutionize both the cinema and refrigeration industries. Between 1919 and 1945 he patented more than sixty inventions in divergent fields with forty of those patents in refrigeration. He is best known … Read MoreFrederick McKinley Jones (1893-1961)
Albert Irving Cassell, a prominent African American architect, planner, engineer, educator, and entrepreneur, was born on June 25, 1895, in Towson, Maryland. His parents were Albert and Charlotte Cassell. Albert’s father was a coal truck driver and trumpet player and his mother washed laundry to … Read MoreAlbert I. Cassell (1895-1969)
James Reese Europe, one of the first African Americans to record music in the United States, was born on February 22, 1881 in Mobile, Alabama to Henry and Lorraine Europe. When he was ten, his family moved to Washington D.C. where he began to study … Read MoreJames Reese Europe (1881-1919)
The Great Migration was the mass movement of about five million southern blacks to the north and west between 1915 and 1960. During the initial wave the majority of migrants moved to major northern cities such as Chicago, Illiniois, Detroit, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New … Read MoreThe Great Migration (1915-1960)
Aviation company founder William J. Powell was born in Kentucky on July 27, 1897. His family soon moved to Chicago, Illinois where he attended school. In 1914 at the age of 17 Powell was accepted into the University of Illinois engineering program. His studies were … Read MoreWilliam J. Powell (1897-1942)
Doc Hamilton, born John Henry Hamilton in 1891, was a famous Seattle prohibition-era club owner. Originally from West Point, Mississippi, he moved to Seattle at the age of 23. Hamilton served in World War I in the famous 92nd infantry division (also known as the … Read MoreJohn Henry “Doc” Hamilton (1891-1942)
John Ralph Lyons was born February 22, 1888 in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania to James Levi and Harriet (Baptist) Lyons. His father was a barber and musician. He had four brothers and two sisters, and his mother died in childbirth when he was a teenager. … Read MoreJohn Ralph Lyons (1888-1941)
Carter W. Wesley, newspaperman and political activist, was born in Houston, Texas, on April 29, 1892, to Mable (Green) and Harry Wesley. He graduated from the public schools of the city and earned a B.A. degree at Fisk University in Nashville in 1917. Shortly thereafter, … Read MoreCarter W. Wesley (1892-1969)
Samuel L. Robinson was born in Kansas in 1896. He arrived in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in his teens, where he attended the city’s integrated high school. He joined the school’s football team and became a close friend of the team captain and the future … Read MoreSamuel L. Robinson (1896-1964?)
After the Civil War, when the massive Union Army was disbanded, Congress could not ignore the contributions of about 200,000 black volunteers to the Union victory. Congress designated six post-Civil War regiments for black enlisted men in the reorganization act of July 28, 1866—the 9th … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers
