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April |
April 13
Civil War begins at Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC, 1861
Lionel Hampton, vibraphonist and bandleader, born, 1909
Emmett Ashford becomes the first Black major league umpire, 1966
Josephine Baker, entertainer and singer, dies, 1975
Joe Louis, World Heavyweight Champion, dies, 1981
April 12
Harlem Hospital opens in New York City, 1907
Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera singer, is awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 1965
April 13
Harlem Hospital opens in New York City, 1907
Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera singer, is awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 1965
April 14
The first abolition society in the US is founded in Pennsylvania, 1775
April 15
Philip Randolph, activist and labor leader, born, 1889
Booker T Washington, educator, receives an honorary degree from Harvard University, 1896
Ralph Ellison, author of The Invisible Man, dies, 1994
April 16
Slavery ended in Washington DC, 1862
Flora Batson, soprano-baritone singer, born, 1864
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, basketball star, born, 1947
USENET newsgroup soc.culture.
african.american begins, 1990
April 17
Frances Williams, first Black American to graduate from college in the Western Hemisphere, publishes collection of Latin poems, 1758
April 18
Zimbabwe Independence Day
Bill Russell, basketball star, signs a contract to become the first Black coach in the NBA, 1966
Alex Haley wins Pulitzer Prize for Roots, 1977
April 19
Cheyney State College, one of the oldest Black colleges in the US, founded in its orignal form as a school for Black boys, 1837
April 20
Harriet Tubman starts working on the Underground Railroad, 1853
Mabel Mercer, popular singer, dies, 1984
April 21
Pvt Milton L Olive III awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, 1966
April 22
A major slave revolt occurs in South Carolina, lead by a slave named Cato, resulting in the deaths of twenty to thirty Whites who attempted to stop their trek to Florida and the eventual deaths of dozens of escaped slaves, 1739
Charles Mingus, bassist, composer, pianist and bandleader, born, 1922
Students protest at Yale University in support of the Black panthers, 1970
April 23
Granville T Woods, inventor of over 40 products, born, 1856
Charlotte Ray, first Black female lawyer, becomes the first Black woman admitted to practice before the District Supreme Court, 1872
April 24
The Medico-Chirurgical Society, the oldest Black medical association in the US, formed in Washington DC, 1884
April 25
Ella Fitzgerald, singer, born, 1917
April 26
William "Count" Basie, jazz pianist and musician, dies, 1984
April 28
George B Vashon becomes first Black American to enter the NY Bar, 1847
Samuel L Gravely becomes first Black admiral in the US Navy, 1962
Muhammad Ali, boxing champion, stripped of his title for refusing to enter the armed forces, 1967
April 29
Macon B Allen and Robert Morris, Jr., first Blacks to practice law in the US, open practice, 1845
"Duke" Ellington, musician and composer, born, 1899
Harold Washington sworn in as the first Black mayor of Chicago, 1983
The LA Riots, sparked by the acquittal of four White cops in the beating of Rodney King, begins, resulting in at least 50 dead, thousands injured and estimates of up to $1 billion in property damage, 1992
April 30
Shaka, the great Zulu King, killed, 1828
May |
May 1
Durham, physician, born, 1762
Mrs. Emma Clarissa Clement becomes the first Black woman named Mother of the Year, 1946
May 2
Elijah McCoy, inventor and holder of over fifty patents, born, 1844
First game of National Negro Baseball League, played in Indianapolis, 1920
Joseph A Johnson Jr admitted into its Divinity School, becomes the first Black student at Vanderbilt University, 1953
May 3
Sugar Ray Robinson, middleweight boxing champion, born, 1920
May 4
Cowboy Bill Pickett earns his title as inventor of "bull dogging", 1893
Robert S Abbott begins publishing The Chicago Defender, Chicago's first Black newspaper, 1905
Congress On Racial Equality begins freedom rides to force desegregation of southern bus terminals, 1961Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first Black person awarded a Pulitzer Prize, for Annie Allen, 1950
Eugene Marion is installed as the first Black Archbishop in the US, 1988
J Terry Steib becomes the first Black bishop in the state of Tennessee, 1993Martin R Delaney, ethnologist, army officer and Black nationalist, born, 1812
May 7JR Winters patents the fire escape, 1878
The Liberty Ship George Washington Carver launched, 1943
William H Hastie is inaugurated as the first Black governor of the Virgin Islands, 1946May 8
Henry McNeal Turner, first Black chaplain in the US Army, dies, 1915
May 9
John Brown, abolitionist and martyr of the Harper's Ferry Insurrection, born, 1800
Slaves in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina are freed, 1862
AJ Burr patents the lawn mower, 1899
May 10
PBS Pinchback, first Black state governor, born, 1837
Smith v Allwright, deciding that excluding Blacks from primary voting is illegal, decided, 1944
May 11
Ira Aldridge, actor, born, 1807
William Still, composer, born, 1895
Louis Farrakhan, religious leader of the Nation of Islam, born, 1933
Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as the first President of South Africa, 1994
May 12
Segregated streetcars integrated in Louisville, KY, following sit-in staged by a Black teenager, 1871
Joe Gans becomes the first American-born Black American to win a world crown in boxing (namely, the lightweight), 1902
"Toothpick" Sam Jones becomes first Black person to pitch a no-hitter in Major League Baseball and the first pitcher to pitch a no-hit game in forty years, 1955
H Rap Brown replaces Stokley Carmichael as chairman of SNCC, 1967
May 13
Sidney Bechet, jazz clarinetist, born, 1897
Joe Louis, World Heavyweight Champion, born, 1914
Stevie Wonder, singer and composer, born, 1950
May 14
Slavery abolished in Brazil, 1888
May 15
US Congress declares foreign slave trade an act of piracy punishable by death, 1820
May 16
Slavery abolished in Denmark, 1792
James Milton Turner, educator, born, 1840
Sugar Ray Leonard, boxer, born, 1956
A Philip Randolph, activist and labor leader, dies, 1979
Sammy Davis Jr, entertainer, dies, 1990
May 17
Oliver Lewis wins first Kentucky Derby, 1875
May 18
Supreme Court upholds the "Separate But Equal" doctrine in education and public accommodations in Plessy v Ferguson, 1896
Reggie Jackson, baseball player, born, 1946
Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, dies, 1955May 19
Malcolm X, activist and Black Nationalist, born, 1925
Althea Gibson, tennis champion, wins the French Open, becoming the first Black tennis player to win a major tennis title, 1956
Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee is established in Atlanta GA, 1961
Arthur Ashe wins the National Men's Singles in the US Lawn Tennis Association Open Tournament, becoming the first Black man to win a major tennis title, 1968Victoria E Matthews, educator, born, 1898
Madame C J Walker, probably the first Black millionaire, dies, 1919
Louis Gossett Jr, actor, born, 1936
Dorie Miller, a messman, awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic deeds at Pearl Harbor, 1942Eliza Ann Gardner, Underground Railroad conductor, born, 1831
Nationalist Party in South Africa wins White-only elections and begins dismantling limited rights of Africans, 1948
June 1 Slavery abolished in all United States possessions, 1862 WEB DuBois, civil right activist and educator, awarded Spingarn Medal, 1920 Harriet Tubman leads Union Army guerillas into Maryland and frees more than 700 slaves, 1863 Segregation outlawed in dining cars in interstate transportation by the Supreme Court, 1950 Public Accommodations Bill instituted, outlawing discrimination in public facilities (such as hotels and restaurants), 1963 Liberia recognized as a nation by the United States, 1862 Dr Charles Richard Drew, pioneer of blood plasma research, born, 1904 Poor People's Campaign's March on Washington begins, 1968 Bill Cosby, entertainer, receives an Emmy Award for "I Spy", 1967 Edwin Moses after 122 victories in ten years, loses his first 400-meter hurdles race, 1987 June 6 Dillard University chartered in New Orleans, 1930 Congress On Racial Equality founded, 1942 Marian Wright Edelman, activist and founder of the Children's Defense Fund, born, 1942 Stokley Carmichael, civil rights activist, launches "Black Power" movement, 1966June 7 GJ Sampson receives patent for clothes dryer, 1892 Homer A Plessy refuses to move to segregated railroad coach in New Orleans, initiating Plessy v Ferguson, 1892 Gwendolyn Brooks, poet and first Black person awarded a Pulitzer Prize, born, 1917 Mary Church Terrell, political activist, wins struggle to end segregation in Washington DC restaurants, 1953June 8 The First Civil Rights Act passed, 1886 Leroy "Satchel" Paige, major league baseball player, dies, 1982 June 9 Meta-Vaux Warick Fuller, sculptor, born, 1877 James Napier organizes the first bank begun by a Black American (in Tennessee), 1904 June 10 Joseph Boulogne Saint-Georges, composer, violinist and champion fencer, born, 1799 James Augustine Healey becomes first Black Catholic Bishop in the United States, 1875 Hattie McDaniel, first Black person to win an Oscar (for Best Supporting Actress in Gone With The Wind, 1940), born, 1898 Jack Johnson, first Black heavyweight champion, dies, 1946June 11 Hazel Dorothy Scott, classical pianist and singer, born, 1920 June 12 Medger Evers, civil rights activist, assassinated, 1963 June 14 Harriet Beecher Stowe, White abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, born, 1811 Black soldiers win Congressional approval for equal pay, 1864 Harold D West named president of Meharry Medical College, 1952June 15 Henry O Flipper becomes first Black graduate of West Point, 1877 Errol Garner, singer and musician, born, 1923 Ella Fitzgerald, singer, dies, 1996June 16 Denmark Vesey leads slave rebellion in South Carolina, 1822 June 17 James Weldon Johnson, co-author of the Black National Anthem and the first Black person admitted to the Florida Bar, born, 1804 Thomas Ezekiel Miller, congressman, born, 1849 David Patrick wins national title for 400-meter hurdles, 1989 Sandra Farmer-Patrick wins national title for 400-meter hurdles, 1989June 18 Denmark Vesey, slave revolt leader, arrested in Charleston, SC, 1822 WH Richardson, inventor, patents children's carriage, 1889 Nannie Burroughs founded National Training School for Women, 1909June 19 Juneteenth begins when slaves in south Texas first hear about the Emancipation Proclamation, over two years after the fact, 1865 Tennessee University opens as Tennessee A&L State College, 1912 Poor People's Campaign's Solidarity Day takes place, 1968 Henry O Tanner, artist, wins Medal of Honor at Paris Exposition, 1900 Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, leads UCLA to NCAA tennis championship, 1965June 22 Katherine Dunham, dancer and choreographer, born, 1910 Joe Louis, World Heavyweight Champion, becomes the first Black boxer of his rank to score a one round knockout, 1938 WEB DuBois becomes first Black member of the National Institute of Letters, 1943 Wilma Rudolph, polio victim who won three Olympic gold medals, born, 1940 Dr Betty Shabazz, civil rights activist and wife of Malcolm X, dies, 1997 June 25 Beatrice Murphy, editor and author, born, 1908 Fair Employment Practices Commission established, 1941 Joe Louis crowned World Heavyweight Champion, 1948 Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Justice, announces retirement, 1991 Bakke Decision, affecting racial quotas in education and industry, is handed down by Supreme Court, 1978 Carter G Woodson, the father of Black history, awarded Spingarn Medal, 1926
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July 1 Slavery abolished in all United States possessions, 1862 WEB DuBois, civil right activist and educator, awarded Spingarn Medal, 1920 Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Justice, born, 1908 1964 Civil Rights Act passed by congress, 1964July 3 Robinson, first Black baseball player in the major leagues, named to Baseball Hall of Fame, 1962 July 4 EM Bannister, African painter, exhibits Under The Oaks at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and is awarded the gold medal, 1876 Tuskegee Institute opened by Booker T Washington, 1881 Jack Johnson,first Black heavyweight champion, retains his championship by knocking out Jim "The Great White Hope" Jeffries, who had come out of retirement "to win back the title for the White race", 1910 July 5 Republic of Cape Verde Independence Day Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, wins the men's Wimbledon singles championship, 1975 July 6 July 10 J Standard, inventor, awarded patent for his refrigerator, 1891 George Washington Carver National Monument dedicated in Joplin MO, 1951 July 15 Pompey Lamb, noted spy, aids the American Revolutionary War effort, 1779 Public schools for Blacks open in Philadelphia, 1822 Francis Bebey, guitarist and author, born, 1929 July 16 Ida B Wells, reformer who first gathered statistical records on lynchings in the US, born, 1862 V A Johnson, first Black female to argue before the US Supreme Court, born, 1882 July 17 John Coltrane, innovative and famed jazz musician, dies, 1967 July 18 Lemuel Haynes, First Black minister to serve for a White congregation, born, 1753 July 19 Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa and political activist, born, 1918 entertainer and singer, makes her Paris debut, 1925 July 20 First US Victory in Korea is won by Black troops in the 24th Infantry Regiment, 1950 July 21 The New Orleans Tribune, first daily Black newspaper, is published in English and French, 1864 Mary Church Terrell founds National Association of Colored Women in Washington, DC, 1896 July 22 Abraham Lincoln reads the first draft of Emancipation Proclamation to the cabinet, 1861 Floyd Pattersonloses his world heavyweight title to Sony Liston, 1963 July 23 Louis Tompkins Wright, physician, born, 1924 July 24 Townsend Sonny Brewster, playwright and activist, born, 1924 Mary Church Terrell, first Black person to serve on the DC board of education, dies, 1954 July 25 Whitney Young, an Executive Director of the National Urban League
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October |
||||||
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| Morgan State College founded in Maryland, 1872 James Meredith becomes the first Black student at University of Mississippi... after 3000 federal troops quelled riots over his admission, 1962 |
Robert H Lawrence, named the first Black astronaut, dies in a plane crash before his mission, 1967 |
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| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Bethune-Cookman College opens in Daytona Beach, FL, 1904 WERD, first Black radio station, begins operating in Atlanta, GA, 1949 |
Kingdom of Lesotho Independence Day | Booker T Washington, educator, leaves Malden, West VA to enter Hampton Institute, 1872 Yvonne Burke, congresswoman, born, 1932 |
Fannie Lou Hamer, activist, born, 1917 | William Still, chronicler of The Underground Railroad Records, born, 1821 Sergeant Johnson, sculptor, born, 1887 |
Rev Jesse Jackson, activist and 1988 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, born, 1941 | Frank Robinson, professional baseball player, becomes the manager of the Cleveland Indians and the first Black manager of a major league team, 1975 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
Elijah Muhammad, activist and religious leader of the Nation of Islam, born, 1897 |
Paul Bogle, Jamaican national hero, leads a successful protest march to the Morant Bay Courthouse, 1865 A Miles patents the elevator, 1887 NAACP organizes the Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1939 |
Dick Gregory, comedian and activist, born, 1932 | Edith Sampson, first Black delegate to United Nations, born, 1901 Arna W Bontemps, noted poet, born, 1902 Garrett T Morgan patents the gas mask, 1914Meharry Medical College is incorporated in Nashville Tennessee, 1915 Jesse Leroy Brown, first Black naval aviator, born, 1926 |
Henry Blair patents his corn-planting machine, 1834 Martin Luther King Jr, activist and civil rights leader, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1964 |
Wyomia Tyus becomes the first person to win a gold medal in the 100-meter race in two consecutive Olympiads, 1968 | Harper's Ferry Insurrection begins, 1859 While being awarded the gold and bronze medals, respectively, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raise their gloved fists on the Olympic victory stand to symbolize the struggle for Black freedom in the USA, 1968 Maynard Jackson, politician, becomes the first Black mayor (and the youngest) of Atlanta, 1973 Bishop Desmond Tutu, South African activist, awarded Nobel Peace Prize, 1984 The Nation of Islam organizes The Million Man March on Washington, 1995 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Dr Mae Jemison, first Black female astronaut, born, 1956 | Paul Robeson, actor, singer, athlete and activist, receives Spingarn Medal, 1945 Bob Beamon sets world long jump record at 29 ft, 2.5 in at the Mexico City Olympics, 1968 |
Byrd Prillerman, co-founder of Virginia State College, born, 1859 US Navy opened to Black women, 1944 |
John Merrick organizes North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1898 | George William Gordon, Jamaican national hero, is unfairly arrested and sentenced to death, 1865 John H Conyers becomes first African American to enter the US Naval Academy, 1872 John Birks "Dizzy" Gilespie, famed musician, born, 1917 Earl Lloyd, first NBA Black Assistant Coach and first Black chief scout, becomes the first Black person to play in an NBA game (beating out Charles Cooper and Nat Clifton by a day), 1950 |
Charles Cooper becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an NBA game (for the Celtics, no less), 1950 Nat Clifton becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an NBA game, 1950 The first post office manned by Blacks opens in Atlanta GA, 1955 225,000 boycott Chicago schools to protest segregation, 1963 |
The NAACP petitions the United Nations about racial injustices, 1947 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 25,000 Black workers strike in New Orleans, 1892 Langston Hughes' Mulatto opens, the first Black-authored play to become a long-run Broadway hit, 1935 |
Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, born, 1911 | Benjamin O Davis becomes the first Black general in US Army, 1940 | St. Vincent Independence Day DB Downing, inventor, patents his street letter box, 1891 |
Levi Coffin, founder of The Underground Railroad, born, 1798 | Supreme Court orders end to all school segregation "at once", 1969 | Richard Arrington elected first Black mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, 1979 |
| 31 | ||||||
William Henry Lewis, football player, named All-American, 1893 Ethel Waters, actor and singer, born, 1900 Booker T Washington, educator, inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, 1945 |
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November |
November 1
Antigua Independence Day
WEB Dubois, activist, begins publication of the NAACP monthly magazine, Crisis, 1910
John H Johnson publishes first issue of Ebony magazine, 1945
November 2
Maggie L Walker, business and civic leader, opens the St Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, VA, 1903
President Ronald Reagan signs law designating the third Monday in January Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 1983
November 3
Dominica Independence Day
JH Hunter patents the portable weighing scales, 1896
Harold Ford elected congressman from TN, 1974
Thurman L Milnet elected mayor of Hartford CT, 1981
Carol Moseley Braun elected to US Senate, 1992
November 4
T Elkins patents the refrigerating apparatus, 1879
Hulan Jack elected first Black Borough President of Manhattan, NYC, 1953
Shirley Verrett, world-renowned opera singer, makes her debut in New York City, 1958
November 5
Theo Wright becomes the first Black recipient of a Theology Degree in the US, 1836
Shirley Chisholm becomes first Black woman elected to Congress, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, 1968
George Brown elected Lt Governor of Colorado, becoming one of the first two Black Lt Governors in the USA, 1974
Mervyn M Dymally elected Lt Governor of California, becoming one of the first two Black Lt Governors in the USA, 1974
November 6
William Wells Brown, novelist and dramatist, dies, 1884
Coleman Young elected mayor of Detroit, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973
Thomas Bradley elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represented only 15% of the LA electorate, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973
November 7
Elijah Lovejoy, newspaperman, killed defending his newspaper from a pro-slavery mob, 1837
David Dinkins elected first Black mayor of New York City, 1989
L. Douglas Wilder elected governor of Virginia, becoming the first Black Governor in the US since Reconstruction, 1989
November 8
Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor, the world's fastest bicycle racer for 12 years, born in Indianapolis, 1878
Otis Smith becomes auditor general and the first Black politician to win a statewide election since reconstruction, 1960
Edward W Brooke elected first Black US senator (R-Mass) in eighty-five years, 1966
November 9
Benjamin Banneker, inventor, mathematician and one of the planners of what is now Washington DC, born, 1731
Medical School at Howard University opens with eight students, 1868
November 10
Granville T Woods patents the electric railway, 1891
Charlie Sifford wins the Long Beach Open, becoming the first Black person to win a major professional golf tournament, 1957
Andrew Hatcher is named associate press secretary to President John F Kennedy, becoming the first Black press secretary, 1960
November 11
Nat Turner, leader of a Virginia slave revolt, hanged, 1831
D McCree patents the portable fire escape, 1890
Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery, AL, 1989
November 12
Madame Lillian Evanti, opera singer, founds the National Negro Opera Company, 1941
November 13
Dr Daniel Hale Williams, pioneering surgeon, becomes a member of the American College of Surgeons, 1913
Janet Collins, ballerina, becomes the first Black dancer to appear with the Metropolitan Opera Company, 1951
November 14
Booker T Washington, educator and founder of Tuskegee Institute, dies, 1915
November 15
Granville T Woods patents this Synchronous Multiplier Railway Telegraph, 1887
November 16
WC Handy, father of the Blues, born in Florence, AL, 1873
November 17
Omega Psi Phi, fraternity, founded on the campus of Howard University, 1911
November 18
Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and orator, born, 1787
Cab Calloway, bandleader and first jazz singer to sell a million records, dies, 1994
November 19
Roy Campanella named most valuable player of the National Baseball League for the second time, 1953
November 20
Howard University founded, 1865
Garrett T Morgan patents the traffic signal, 1923
November 21
Shaw University founded, 1865
November 22
Alrutheus A Taylor, teacher and historian, born, 1893
Elijah Muhammad founds the Nation of Islam in Detroit, 1930
November 23
Andrew J Beard patents the jerry coupler, still used today to connect railroad cars, 1897
JL Love patents the pencil sharpener, 1897
1000 persons from twenty-five states gather in Philadelphia and form the National Black Independent Party, 1980
November 24
Scott Joplin, composer and musician, born, 1868
November 25
Suriname Independence Day
Tina Turner, singer, born, 1941
Segregation in buses and terminals banned by Interstate Commerce Commission, 1955
November 26
Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and orator, dies, 1883
National Negro Medical Association founded, 1895
Charles Gordone receives the Pulitzer Prize for his play No Place to be Somebody, 1970
November 27
Jimi Hendrix, rock musician, born, 1942
November 28
Richard Wright, author of Native Son and Black Boy, dies, 1942
November 29
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, congressman, born, 1908
November 30
Barbados Independence Day
Shirley Chisholm, congresswoman, born, 1924
December |
December 1
Arthur Spingarn, founder of the NAACP, born, 1878
Minnie Evans, painter, born, 1892
Rosa Parks refuses to yield her seat to a White man, initiating the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted over a year, 1955
December 2
Charles Wesley, historian, born, 1891
Charles C Diggs, congressman, born, 1922
December 3
Frederick Douglass, along with Martin R Delaney, starts The North Start, an anti-slavery paper, 1847
December 4
Alpha Phi Alpha, first Black Greek Letter Fraternity, founded, 1906
Amsterdam News founded in New York, 1909
Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, killed by Chicago police while he was sleeping, 1969
Mark Clark, Black Panther, killed by Chicago police, 1969
December 5
Phyllis Wheatley, one of the first Black female poets in America, dies, 1784
Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, founds National Council of Negro Women, 1935
December 6
Theodore Lawless, medicine pioneer, born, 1892
500 store owners in Tucson, Ariz sign pledges of nondiscrimination, 1960
December 8
Henry Hugh Proctor, writer, born, 1868
Sammy Davis Jr. entertainer, born, 1925
Kurt Schmoke becomes the first Black mayor of Baltimore, MD, 1987
December 9
PBS Pinchback serves as governor of Louisiana, becoming the first Black state governor, 1872
Roy deCarava, first Black American photographer to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, born, 1919
Red Foxx, entertainer, born, 1925
December 10
Ralph J Bunche becomes the first Black person awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, 1950
December 11
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, blues singer, born, 1926
December 12
George F Grant, dentist, receives a patent for the wooden golf tee, 1899
James Weldon Johnson and James Rosamond Johnson compose Lift Every Voice And Sing, 1900
Willie Brown becomes the first Black mayor of San Francisco, CA, 1995
December 13
First Black women complete officer training for the WAVEs, 1944
December 14
John Langston, Congressman, born, 1829
December 15
William Hinton, first Black professor at Harvard Medical School and developer of "Hinton Test" for diagnosing syphilis, born, 1911
December 16
Andrew Young named Ambassador and Chief US Delegate to the United Nations, 1976
December 17
Henry Adams, teacher and minister, born, 1802
Noble Sissle, lyricist and bandleader, dies, 1975
December 18
The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, ratified, 1865
December 19
Carter G Woodson, the father of Black history, born, 1875
Cicely Tyson, acclaimed actor, born, 1933
December 20
Mother Matelda Beasley, nun, born, 1834
South Carolina secedes from the Union, beginning the rumbles that would become the Civil War, 1860
Max Robinson, first Black news anchor for a major television network, dies, 1988
December 21
Josh Gibson, the home run king of the Negro Baseball League, born, 1911
December 22
Arthur Wergs Mitchell, politician, born, 1883
Dr Chancellor Williams, historian and author of Destruction of Black Civilization, born, 1898
December 23
Madame C J Walker, probably the first Black millionaire, born, 1867
Alice H Parker patents the gas-heating furnace, 1919
December 24
Irwin C Mollison, first Black judge of the Customs Court, born, 1898
Cab Calloway, bandleader and first jazz singer to sell a million records, born, 1907
December 25
Henry McKee Minton, physician, born, 1870
Rev Jesse Jackson organizes Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), 1971
December 26
Kwanzaa, the first day: umoja or unity
Jack Johnson becomes world heavyweight champion, defeating Tommy Burns, 1908
December 27
Kwanzaa, the second day: kujichagulia or self-determination
Biddle University (now Johnson C. Smith) defeats Livingstone College, in first intercollegiate football game between historically Black colleges, 1892
Dr Charles Richard Drew, pioneer of blood plasma research, establishes a pioneer blood bank in New York City, 1941
December 28
Kwanzaa, the third day: ujima or collective work and responsibility
Earl "Fatha" Hines, famed jazz musician and father of modern jazz piano, born, 1905
Karen Farmer becomes the first known Black member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1977
December 29
Kwanzaa, the fourth day: ujamaa or cooperative economics
December 30
Kwanzaa, the fifth day: nia or purpose
Dr Miles V Lynk, physician, publishes the first Black medical journal, 1892
December 31
Kwanzaa, the sixth day: ukuumba or creativity
January |
January 1
Democratic Republic of Sudan Independence Day
Haiti Independence Day
Kwanzaa, the seventh day: imani or faith
The African Benevolent Society for Education is found, 1808
Lincoln University, the oldest Historically Black University in the US, incorporated, 1854
The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
January 2
William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper, 1831
John Hope Franklin, historian, born, 1915
Clifton Reginald Wharton becomes 14th president of Michigan State University, 1970
January 3
William Tucker, first Black child born in America, baptized in Jamestown, 1624
Rev Jesse Jackson secures the release of pilot Robert Goodman, shot down over Damascus, Syria, 1984
January 4
Grace Bumbry, opera singer, born, 1937
January 5
Kappa Alpha Psi, fraternity, founded at Indiana University, 1911
Alvin Ailey, choreographer, born, 1931
George Washington Carver, scientist and discoverer of over 300 products from the peanut and sweet potato, dies, 1943
January 6
The World Anti-Slavery Convention opens in London, 1831
Harold R Perry becomes second Black Roman Catholic bishop in the US, 1966
John Birks "Dizzy" Gilespie, famed musician, dies, 1993
January 7
WB Purvis, inventor, patents the fountain pen, 1890
Zora Neale Hurston, writer, born, 1901
Marian Anderson becomes first Black person to appear in the Metropolitan Opera House in Verdi's Masked Ball, 1955
January 8
Fannie M Jackson, educator and first Black woman college graduate in the US, born, 1836
Col Charles Young, first Black to achieve that rank in the US Army, dies in Lagos, Nigeria, 1922
January 9
Fisk University founded, 1866
Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet and novelist, dies, 1906
Phi Beta Sigma, fraternity, founded at Howard University, 1914
January 10
James Varicick, first AME Zion Bishop, born, 1768
George Washington Carver, scientist and discoverer of over 300 products from the peanut and sweet potato, may have been born (Carver was apparently born a slave, and we don't know even the year of his birth; however, it seems to have been between 1858 and 1865), 1864
January 11
Charles W Anderson becomes first Black member of the Kentucky Legislature, 1936
Lorraine Hansberry, author and dramatist, dies, 1965
January 12
Mordecai W Johnson, educator, born, 1890
Bass Reeves, US Marshall and first Black Deputy Marshall commissioned west of the Mississippi, dies, 1910
US Supreme Court decision gives Blacks the right to study law at state institutions, 1948
The Congressional Black Caucus organized, 1971
January 13
Convention of the Colored National Labor Union, the first Black labor convention, held, 1869
PBS Pinchback ends service as governor of Louisiana, 1873
Delta Sigma Theta, sorority, founded on the campus of Howard University, 1913
Don Barksdale becomes first Black person to play in an NBA All-Star Game, 1953
Sterling Brown, poet, dies, 1990
January 14
John Oliver Killens, novelist, born, 1916
Ernest E Just, biologist and pioneer of cell division, serves as V.P. of American Zoologists, 1930
January 15
Alpha Kappa Alpha, first Black Greek Letter Sorority, founded, 1908
Martin Luther King Jr, activist and civil rights leader, born, 1929
January 16
Jefferson Franklin Long takes oath of office as first Black Congressman from Georgia, 1871
Zeta Phi Beta founded at Howard University, 1920
Lucius D Amerson sworn in as first Black sheriff of the South since Reconstruction, in Macon County, AL, 1967
Muhammad Ali, boxing champion, named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year, 1974
January 17
Paul Cuffe, merchant, shipbuilder and Black Nationalist, born, 1759
Muhammad Ali, boxing champion, born, 1942
Dr Ronald McNair named for a space mission, 1978
Lt Col Guion S Bluford Jr, the first Black US astronaut in space, named for a space mission, 1978
January 18
Dr Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer in surgery, born, 1856
William Dawson elected chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations, 1949
Robert C. Weaver becomes first Black presidential cabinet member when sworn in as Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Johnson Administration, 1966
Grant Fuhr, goalie for the world champion Edmonton Oilers, is picked in the first round of the National Hockey League draft to become the first Black professional hockey player, 1981
January 19
Freed Blacks organize Savanna GA's first Baptist church, 1788
John H Johnson, publisher of Ebony Magazine and Jet, born, 1918
January 20
WR Pettiford, founder of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank, born, 1847
Hiram Rhodes Revels elected senator (from Mississippi), becoming the first Black US Senator in the US, 1870
Barbara Jordan, congresswoman, born, 1936
W Leonard Evans begins The National Negro Network, the first Black radio network, by broadcasting on forty stations, 1954
January 21
Osai Tutu Kwamina defeats the British at Assamaka, Ashanti, 1824
William Brown-Chappell, pioneer aviator, born, 1906
January 22
Nat Turner, leader of the Virginia slave revolt, born, 1800
Toussaint L'Ouverture, Haitian liberator, enters Santiago to battle the French, 1801
January 23
Dr Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer in surgery, founds Provident Hospital in Chicago, IL, 1889
Richard Wright wins the Spingarn Medal for Native Son, 1941
Paul Robeson, actor, singer, athlete and activist, dies, 1976
ABC-TV begins televising the Roots mini-series (which would go on to be the most watched mini-series in history), based on Alex Haley's book, 1977
January 24
Martin R Delaney, ethnologist, army officer and Black Nationalist, dies, 1885
Howard T Ward becomes Georgia's first Black Superior Court Judge, 1977
Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Justice, dies, 1993
January 25
Sojourner Truth addresses the first Black Women's Rights Convention, 1851
Gloria Naylor, writer, born, 1950
January 26
54th Regiment, a Black infantry unit, formed, 1863
Bessie Coleman, first Black American woman aviator, born, 1893
Angela Davis, activist, born, 1944
Executive Order 9981, to end segregation in US Armed Forces is signed by President Harry Truman, 1948
January 27
Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera singer, makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, 1961
January 28
Arthur Ashe, first Black male to win Wimbledon, is denied entry to compete on the US Team for the South African Open tennis championships due to Ashe's sentiments on South Africa's racial policies, 1970
Joseph Howze named auxiliary bishop of Mississippi, 1973
January 29
Franics L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina, 1872
Charles Mahoney, first Black American delegate to the UN, dies, 1966
January 30
William Wells Brown, novelist and dramatist, publishes first Black drama, Leap to Freedom, 1858
Leroy "Satchel" Paige, major league baseball player, named all-time outstanding player by National Baseball Congress, 1965
Franklin Thomas named president of the Ford Foundation, 1979
January 31
Jackie Robinson, first Black baseball player in the major leagues, born, 1919
Samuel L Gravely becomes first Black person to Command a US warship, 1962
March |
March 1
Ralph Ellison, author of The Invisible Man, born, 1915
Harry Belafonte, singer and actor, born, 1927
March 2
Congress declares importation of slaves into US jurisdiction illegal as of the New Year, 1807
Freedman’s Bureau for Black Education founded, 1865
March 3
Thomas Jennings becomes the fist Black American to receive a patent, for a dry-cleaning process, 1821
Jefferson Franklin Long, congressman, born, 1836
Garrett T Morgan, inventor, born, 1877
March 4
J Ernest Wilkins is named Undersecretary of Labor by President Eisenhower, 1954
March 5
Crispus Attucks dies at The Boston Massacre, 1770
March 6
Uganda Independence Day
The Dred Scott decision, asserting that Blacks could not be citizens of the United States, even if they were citizens of their states, handed down by the Supreme Court, 1857
March 7
Estevanico (Esteban) de Dorantes, native of Azamoor Morocco, sets out to explore what is now the southwestern part of the US, 1539
March 8
PBS Pinchback, first Black state governor, is denied his senate seat by the Senate, 1873
March 9
Harriet Tubman, engineer of the Underground Railroad, dies, 1913
Clifton Reginald Wharton sworn in as ambassador to Norway, 1961
March 10
Hallie Quinn Brown, women’s right activist, born, 1854
March 11
Lorraine Hansberry opens A Raisin in the Sun at Barrymore Theatre in New York, 1959
March 12
Benjamin Banneker, along with Charles L’Enfant, commissioned to lay out Washington in the District of Columbia, 1791
March 13
Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, based on the ideas and plans of one of his slaves, 1794
Fannie Lou Hamer, activist, dies, 1977
March 14
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church founded, 1821
Quincy Jones, composer and musician, born, 1933
March 15
John Lee, first Black commissioned officer in the US Navy, is assigned, 1947
March 16
John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish founded Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper, 1827
March 17
Norbert Rillieux, inventor, born, 1806
The Phoenix Society founded, 1833
Clark College granted charter, 1877
CB Scott, inventor, patents the street sweeper, 1896
Nat King Cole, singer and pianist, born, 1919
March 19
TJ Boyd patents an apparatus for detaching horses from carriages, 1872
Jan Matzeliger invents the first machine to manufacture an entire shoe, 1883
March 20
Harriet Beecher Stowe, White abolitionist, publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852
Allan Rohan Crite, painter, born, 1910
March 21
Selma Freedom March begins, 1965
March 22
Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist, arrives in America from Jamaica, 1916
March 23
National Urban League founded, 1910
March 24
Canada legally recognizes Black suffrage, 1837
March 25
The Scottsboro Boys arrested, 1931
Aretha Franklin, singer, born, 1942
March 26
Richard Allen, AME Church Bishop, dies, 1831
George Alexander McGuire, bishop, born, 1836
Thomas J Martin patents the fire extinguisher, 1872
Augusta Savage, sculptor, dies, 1962
March 27
Arthur Mitchell, dancer and choreographer, born, 1934
March 28
Slavery abolished in New York, 1799
Ohio passes law restricting the movement of Blacks, 1804
The Renaissance, the first Black pro basketball team, become the first Black team on record to win a professional world’s championship, 1939
March 29
Granville T Woods, along with his brother Lyates, patents the first of two improvements on railroad brakes, 1904
Pearl Bailey, entertainer, born, 1918
March 30
The 15th Amendment, giving Blacks (well, Black men) the right to vote (well, except when other peoples didn’t want them to do so) adopted, 1870
Capt Edward J Dwight Jr. becomes the first Black candidate for astronaut training, 1963
March 31
Thomas Mundy Petersen, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, becomes the first Black person to vote as a result of the adoption of the 15th amendment, 1870
Jack Johnson, first Black heavyweight champion, born, 1878
George “Little Chocolate” Dixon, the first Black world champion in boxing, knocks out Cal McCarthy to become the first Black man to hold an American title in any sport, 1890
Winter 2006/2007 |
Edward Brooke has completed his autobiography “Bridging the Divide: My Life” which details his rise from Boston lawyer to the first popularly elected African American U.S. Senator. Available December 2006 at www.rutgerspress.rutgers.edu.
Odetta will be honored by the World Folk Music Association (WFMA) with a special Lifetime Tribute and Concert in the spring of 2007. Visit http://wfma.net for details.
It’s official—the paperback edition of “A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak,” was published February 1, 2007. NVLP Cofounders Camille Cosby and Renee Poussaint wrote a new preface for the edition, giving an update on NVLP’s activities and recognizing the elders from the book who have passed on since the original publication by Simon and Schuster in January, 2004.
August |
August 1
Slavery declared unlawful in British Empire, 1834
Charles Clinton Spaulding, businessman, born, 1874
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, trumpet player and musician, born, 1900
Ronald H Brown, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, born, 1941
Arthur Ashe, first Black male to win Wimbledon, becomes first Black person named to the US Davis Cup team, 1964
Ronald H Brown, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, appointed head of the Department of Commerce by President Bill Clinton, 1993
August 2
Marcus Garvey presents his "Back To Africa" program in New York City, 1920
William Leidesdorff launches first steamboat in San Francisco Bay, 1920
James Baldwin, writer, born, 1924
August 3
Republic of Niger Independence Day
August 4
Robert Purvis, abolitionist, born, 1810
Henry Rucker appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia, 1897
Dr Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer in surgery, dies, 1931
"Long" John Woodruff wins an Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter run, 1936
August 5
Edwin Moses wins gold medal in Olympics track & field, 1984
Evelyn Ashford wins gold medal in Olympics track & field, 1984
August 6
President Lyndon Johnson signs Voting Rights Bill, 1965
August 7
Ralph J Bunche, diplomat and first Black winner of Nobel Peace Prize, born, 1904
August 8
Matthew A Henson, explorer and first to reach the North Pole, born, 1865
August 9
Jesse Owens wins four Olympic gold medals in Berlin, 1936
August 10
Ira Aldridge, actor, dies, 1867
Clarence C White, composer and violinist, dies, 1880
August 11
J Rosamond Johnson, actor and co-composer of Lift Every Voice And Sing, born, 1873
Alex Haley, author of Roots, born, 1921
Watts Riots begin, 1965
August 12
Frederick Douglass' home in Washington DC is declared a national shrine, 1922
Stephen Biko, leader of the Black Consciousness Movement In South Africa, arrested, 1977
August 13
First issue of the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, 1892
August 14
Ernest E Just, biologist and pioneer of cell division, born, 1883
Ervin "Magic" Johnson, basketball player, born, 1959
August 15
Liberia established by freed American slaves, 1824
August 16
Louis Lomax, author, born, 1922
Angela Davis, activist, named in a federal warrant issued in connected with George Jackson's attempted escape from San Quentin prison, 1970
August 17
Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist, born, 1887
WB Purvis, inventor, patents the electric railway switch, 1897
August 18
James Meredith, the first Black person admitted to the University of Mississippi, graduates from University of Mississippi, 1963
August 19
Benjamin Banneker publishes his first Almanac, 1791
Ralph J Bunche, diplomat and first Black winner of Nobel Peace Prize, named undersecretary of the United Nations, 1954
NAACP Youth Council begins sit-ins at lunch counters in Oklahoma City, 1963
Bishop Desmond Tutu defies apartheid laws by walking alone on a South African beach, 1989
August 20
First Black slaves brought by the Dutch to the colony of Jamestown, 1619
Richard Allen chairs the first National Negro Convention in Philadelphia, 1830
Wilberforce University established in Ohio, 1856
August 21
Nat Turner leads slave revolt in Southampton, VA that kills 55 Whites, 1831
William "Count" Basie, jazz pianist and musician, born in Red Bank, NJ, 1904
August 22
John Lee Hooker, blues singer and guitarist, born, 1917
August 23
National Negro Business League founded, 1900
August 24
Edith Sampson appointed first Black delegate to United Nations by Harry S Truman, 1950
August 25
National Association of Colored Nurses founded, 1908
A Philip Randolph organizes the Sleeping Car Porter's Union, 1925
Althea Gibson, first Black Wimbledon champion, born in South Carolina, 1927
August 26
Charles Isbell, Sr. Cool Dad(tm), born, 1943
William Dawson elected Black Democratic Party vice presidential candidate, 1943
Valerie Simpson Ashford, composer, singer and producer, born, 1946
August 27
Robert Lee Van, publisher, born, 1879
WEB Dubois, activist, dies, 1963
Chuck Berry performs Johnny B Goode for NASA engineers and scientists in celebration of Voyager II's encounter with the planet Neptune, 1989
August 28
March on Washington, then the largest single demonstration in US History at the time, begins, 1963
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, 1963
August 29
E Franklin Fraiser, sociologist, born, 1894
Charlie "Bird" Parker, jazz musician, born in Kansas City, 1920
Michael Jackson, musician, born, 1958
Sheridan Broadcasting Corp purchases Mutual Black Network, making it the first completely Black owned radio network in the world, 1979
August 30
Gabriel Prosser's VA slave revolt is betrayed, 1800
Roy Wilkins, second Executive Director of the NAACP, born, 1901
Lt Col Guion S Bluford, Jr. becomes the first Black US astronaut in space, 1983
August 31
Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day
February |
February 1
Black History Month begins
Jefferson Franklin Long becomes first Black person to speak in the House of Representatives as a congressman, 1871
Langston Hughes, poet and author, born, 1902
Carter G Woodson, the Father of Black History, initiates "Negro History Week", 1926
Black college students stage a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, NC, beginning the first of the historic sit-ins of the 1960s, 1960
Ida B Wells, reformer who first gathered statistical records on lynchings in the US, commemorated on a postage stamp, 1990
February 2
Ernest E Just, biologist, receives the Spingarn Medal for pioneering research on fertilization and cell division, 1914
February 3
The 15th Amendment, providing for Black suffrage, ratified, 1870
Jack Johnson, first Black heavyweight champion, wins the "Negro Heavyweight Title", 1903
Autherine Lucy becomes the first Black student at University of Alabama, 1956
Geraldine McCullough wins Widener Gold Medal for Sculpture, 1965
February 4
The 24th Amendment, abolishing the poll tax, ratified, 1864
Rosa Parks, initiator of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, born, 1913
February 5
Henry "Hank" Aaron, the home run king of major league baseball, born, 1934
Avowed White supremacist Byron de le Beckwith is convicted of Medger Evers' murder, more than thirty years after he was shot in the back from ambush, 1994
February 6
First organized emigration of U.S. Blacks back to Africa, from New York to Sierra Leone, takes place, 1820
The Peabody Fund is established to promote Black education in the South, 1867
Bob Marley, born, 1945
Arthur Ashe, first Black male to win Wimbledon, dies, 1993
February 7
Grenada Independence Day
Eubie Blake, pianist, born in Baltimore, 1883
Irwin C Mollison appointed judge of the US Customs Court by President Truman, 1945
February 8
Three South Carolina State students are killed during segregation protests in Orangeburg, 1968
February 9
Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, born, 1944
Martin Luther King, civil rights activist, meets with President Lyndon Johnson to discuss Black voting rights, 1965
Leroy "Satchel" Paige elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1971
Bernard Harris becomes the first Black astronaut to take a space walk, dedicating it to the achievements of all African Americans, 1995
February 10
Joseph Charles Rice, educator, born, 1854
Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera singer, born, 1927
Roberta Flack, singer, born, 1940
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded, 1965
Andrew Brimmer is appointed the first Black person to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, 1966
Alex Haley, author of Roots, dies, 1992
February 11
Clifford Alexander Jr. becomes the first Black Secretary of the Army, 1977
Nelson Mandela, South African president and political activist, released from prison after 27 years, 1990
February 12
Issac Burns Murphy, jockey, dies, 1869
NAACP founded after riot in Springfield, IL, 1909
February 13
Andrew "Rube" Foster organizes The Negro Baseball League, the first Black baseball league, 1920
The Renaissance, the first Black pro basketball team, organized, 1923
Joseph L Searles becomes the first Black member of the New York Stock Exchange, 1970
February 14
Frederick Douglass born, 1817
Morehouse College founded as Augusta Institute, 1867
Gregory Hines, actor and dancer, born, 1946
February 15
US and African nationalists protesting the slaying of Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba disrupt UN sessions, 1961
Nat King Cole, singer and pianist, dies, 1964
February 16
Frederick Douglass, orator and activist, elected President of Freedman Bank and Trust, 1857
Joe Frazier knocks out Jimmy Ellis to become world heavyweight champion, 1970
February 17
Huey Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party, born, 1942
Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist, dies, 1982
February 18
Gambia Independence Day
February 19
WEB Dubois, activist, organizes the first Pan-African Congress, 1919
February 20
JF Pickering patents his airship invention, 1900
Sydney Poitier, actor, born, 1927
February 21
Lemuel Haynes, first Black minister to serve for a White congregation, becomes the first Black person to receive an honorary degree (an MA) from a White college (Middlebury College), 1804
Malcolm X, activist and Black nationalist, assassinated, 1965
February 22
St. Lucia Independence Day
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. activist and chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, denied his congressional seat, 1967
February 23
WEB Dubois, activist, born, 1868
February 24
Bishop Daniel A Payne, reformer and educator of AME Church, born, 1811
February 25
Martin Luther King Jr., activist and civil rights leader, is ordained as a Baptist minister, 1948
Muhammad Ali defeats Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing championship, 1964
February 26
Theodore "Georgia Deacon" Flowers becomes the first Black middleweight boxing champion, 1926
Antoine "Fats" Domino, singer, born, 1928
February 27
Dominican Republic Independence Day
Charlotte Ray, first Black female lawyer, born, 1850
Marian Anderson, opera singer, born, 1902
Debi Thomas, figure skater, becomes first Black American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, 1988
February 28
Michael Jackson, musician, wins eight Grammy awards, 1984