People, Locations, Episodes

Estelle Massey Riddle, Nursing Educator born

*Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne was born on this date in 1901. She was a Black nurse and educator. She served in many prominent positions and worked to eliminate racial discrimination in nursing. Estelle Massey was born in Palestine, Texas, the eighth of eleven children. Despite being uneducated and working in menial jobs, her parents, Hall and Bettye Estelle […]

Lincoln Hospital (North Carolina) Opens

*The opening of Lincoln Hospital is celebrated on this date in 1901. Lincoln was the third hospital for Blacks in North Carolina. It was located in Durham, N.C., and despite their ability to pay, it was open to all patients. The Lincoln School of Nursing opened the following year with Julia Latta, a St. Agnes […]

Mohammad Helmy, Physician, and Activist born

*Mohammed Helmy was born on this date in 1901. He was a North African Egyptian doctor and WW II, activist. Helmy was born to an Egyptian army major and a Sudanese mother in Khartoum, Sudan. He went to Berlin in 1922 to study medicine. He would work as head of the urology department at the […]

Herman G. Canady, Psychologist born

*Herman G. Canady was born on this date in 1901. He was a Black social psychologist, professor, and researcher.  Herman George Canady was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He was the son of Rev. Howard T and Mrs. Anna Canady. He attended Douglass Elementary School and Favored High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and graduated from George […]

William Donald Brown, Physician born

*Dr. William D. Brown was born on this date in 1902. He was a Black doctor, surgeon, and community advocate. From Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of Dr. Robert S. Brown of Illinois and Julia Perrin of Iowa.  His father was the first Black medical doctor licensed to practice in Minneapolis. He graduated from […]

Charles Drew, Physician, and Hematologist born

On this date, in 1904, Dr. Charles Drew was born. He was an African American surgeon and hematologist who made pioneering discoveries about blood plasma and set up blood banks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Thomas P. Dooley, Zoologist born

 *Thomas Dooley was born on this date in 1904. He was a Black Geneticist and Zoologist. From Elberton, Georgia, Thomas Price Dooley earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1927 and a Master of Science from the University of Iowa in 1931. In 1939, he also earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of […]

Samuel Nabrit, Biologist born

*Samuel Nabrit was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American biologist, educator, and activist.

Willliam W. Cardozo, Sickle Cell Researcher born

*William Warrick Cardozo was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American physician and pediatrician.

From Washington D.C. Cardozo attended the public schools in his hometown. His father was Frederick Lewis Cardozo and his mother was Blanche Warrick. He also attended Hampton Institute and went to Ohio State University where he received his AB in 1929 and MD in 1933. He was an intern at City Hospital and took a two-year fellowship at Children’s Hospital and Provident Hospital in Chicago. He is best remembered for his pioneering investigations into sickle cell anemia.

Harold Finley, Parapsychologist born

*Harold Finley was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American Parapsychologist and Protozoologist.

From Palatka, Florida Harold Eugene Finley was the son of Eugene and Lugina Finley. He received a Bachelor of Science from Morehouse University in 1928. One year later he received a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin his Ph.D. in Zoology in 1942. Dr. Finley was appointed as Professor at Atlanta University in 1938 where he stayed until 1947.

Angie Lena Turner King, Chemist born

*Angie Lena Turner King was born on this date in 1905.  She was a Black chemist, mathematician, and educator.   Angie Lena Turner was born in the segregated coal-mining community of Elkhorn in McDowell County, West Virginia.  She had a difficult childhood following her mother’s death when she was eight.  Turner graduated high school at […]

Paul Cornely, Physician and Public Health Advocate born

*Paul Cornely was born on this date in 1906. He was a Black physician, public health pioneer, and activist. Paul Bertau Cornely was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. His mother was Adrienne Mellon, and his father was Eleodore Cornely. At the age of three, his family moved to Puerto Rico. He moved to the United States as […]

Charles W. Buggs, Scientist born

*Charles Buggs was born on this date in 1906. He was a Black scientist and educator. Charles W. Buggs was born in Brunswick, Georgia. He conducted special research on why some bacteria do not react to certain medicines. In several articles, he presented his ideas on penicillin, skin grafting, and the value of chemicals in […]

Lawrence Knox, Chemist, and Teacher born

*Lawrence Knox was born on this date in 1906.  He was a Black Chemist and teacher.  Lawrence Howland Knox was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the son of William Knox.  He had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers.  In the 1820s, his grandfather, Elijah Knox, was born in North Carolina to a slave family. […]

Janet Bragg, Nurse, Aviator, and Businesswoman born

*Janet Bragg was born on this date in 1907. She was an African American aviator, nurse, and nursing home proprietor.