Polish freedom fighter, jazz musician, and British citizen August Agboola Browne was born in British-controlled Lagos, Nigeria, on July 22, 1895. He was the son of Jozefina and Wallace Browne, a longshoreman. Browne traveled to London as a young man and found work in a … Read MoreAugust Agboola Browne (1895-1976)
In August of 1925, Ladipo Solanke, a Nigerian law student, and Herbert Bankole-Bright, a Sierra Leonean doctor, founded the West African Students’ Union (WASU) in the Camden Town section of London, England. WASU eventually become a powerful influence in both British and West African politics … Read MoreWest African Students’ Union (WASU)
Civil rights attorney Louis L. Redding was the first Black man admitted to practice law in Delaware. He argued one of the cases that formed part of the United States Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision. Redding was born on October 25, 1901, … Read MoreLouis L. Redding (1901-1998)
Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French was hailed as the “hero of the Solomons” and the “Human Tugboat” after a heroic rescue in the Pacific during World War II. Along with Doris “Dorie” Miller, who received the Navy Cross for valor during the attack … Read MoreCharles Jackson French (1919-1956)
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar (popularly known as Aden Adde) was the first president of Somalia. He was born on December 9, 1908, in Beledweyne, Somalia while the country was colonized by the Italian government. Daar was orphaned at an early age and raised by members … Read MoreAden Abdullah Osman Daar (1908-2007)
Mohamed Naguib was the first leader of the Egyptian Republic. He was born in Khartoum, Sudan on February 20, 1901, to Youssef Naguib, an Egyptian army officer, and his wife Zohra Ahmed Othman. His secondary school education was at Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum, graduating … Read MoreMohamed Naguib (1901-1984)
Ahmed Ben Bella was a leader of the Algerian War of Independence who became the first Prime Minister, and later, the first President of independent Algeria. Ben Bella was born in 1916 in Maghnia (Marnia), Oran, Algeria (then a French colony), the son of a … Read MoreAhmed Ben Bella (1916-2012)
The USS PC-1264 was a PC-461- class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy. The vessel was one of two U.S. Navy ships operated primarily by an African American crew during World War II. The other ship was the escort destroyer, the USS Mason … Read MoreThe USS PC-1264 (1943-1946)
The Cicero Riot of 1951 occurred from July 11-12, 1951, when a mob of approximately 4,000 whites attacked an apartment building an African American family had recently moved into in Cicero, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The events leading up to the riot began in June … Read MoreThe Cicero Riot of 1951
Lieutenant Colonel Charity Edna Adams Earley was the first African American woman officer of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. She served as the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, making her the highest-ranking Black female officer in the Army, during World War II. … Read MoreCharity Earley (1918-2002)
