People, Locations, Episodes

Walter McAfee, Scientist born

*Walter McAfee was born on this date in 1914.  He was a Black scientist and astronomer.  Walter Samuel McAfee was born in Ore City, Texas; his parents were Luther F. McAfee and Suzie A. Johnson; he was the second of their nine children. At three months old, the family moved to Marshall, Texas, where McAfee would grow up and […]

Ethelene Jones Crockett, Public Health Advocate born

*Ethelene Jones Crockett was born on this date in 1914.   She was a Black physician and public health activist.   Ethelene Jones was born in St. Joseph, MI.  She attended Jackson High School and Jackson Junior College (now Jackson College), where she graduated in 1934. She met and married George Crockett Jr while attending the University of Michigan In […]

John E. Hodge, Chemist, born

*John Edward Hodge was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American chemist.

Bessie Blount, Inventor, and Forensic Scientist born

On this date, we mark the birth of Bessie Blount in 1914, an African American inventor and forensic scientist.

She was born in Hickory, Virginia. Little else is known of her family or her childhood except that she had long wanted to work in the medical field. Blount left home and traveled north to New Jersey to become a physical therapist. She studied at both Panzar College of Physical Education and at Union Junior College. Then she moved to Chicago where she finished her training.

Olivia J. Hooker, Tulsa Professor born

*Olivia Hooker was born on this date in 1915.  She was a Black psychologist and professor. Olivia J. Hooker was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma.  At the age of six, during the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921, Ku Klux Klan members ransacked her home while she hid under a table with her three siblings. Hooker later was a […]

Archie Williams, Athlete, Educator, and Engineer, born

Archie Williams was born on this date in 1915. He was an African American athlete and teacher.

Born in Oakland, CA, Williams attended San Mateo Junior College (now College of San Mateo). His coach, Dr. Oliver Byrd, was instrumental in preparing him for future achievements. Soon Williams transferred to the University of California-Berkeley to become a mechanical engineer. He continued to run track.

Henry A. Hill, Chemist born

This date marks the birth of Henry Aaron Hill in 1915. He was an African American chemist and scientist.

Born in St. Joseph, N.C., he completed a B.A. at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. in 1936, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1942. In 1961, he became president and founder of the Riverside Research Laboratory.

Lee Lorch, Math Professor, and Activist born

*Lee Lorch was born on this date in 1915.  He was a white Jewish-American mathematician, American Civil Rights activist, professor, and communist.  Lee Alexander Lorch was born in New York City to Adolph Lorch and Florence Mayer Lorch. He graduated from Cornell University in 1935 and obtained his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati […]

Ruby S. Jackson, Public Health Nurse, born

*The birth of Ruby S. Jackson is celebrated on this date in 1915. She was a Black Public Health Nurse. From Eufaula, Alabama, Ruby Sherman Jackson moved to Atlanta in 1932 to continue her high school education at Booker T. Washington High School, as education for Blacks ended in the 10th grade in Eufaula. She […]

Homer Harris, Student/Athlete, and Physician born

*Homer Harris was born on this date 1916. He was an African American physician and athlete.

Mary Lancaster Carnegie, Nurse, and Administrator born

The birth of Mary Elizabeth Lancaster Carnegie occurred on this date in 1916. She was an African American nurse, activist and administrator.

From Baltimore, MD, her parents were Adeline Beatrice Swann and John Oliver Lancaster. Young Lancaster spent most of her youth with her aunt & uncle due to her parents divorce. She had an after school job in her youth at an all-white cafeteria called the Allies Inn. A graduate of Dunbar H.S., she moved to New York with disappointment following for lack of work. In 1934, she applied and was accepted at Lincoln Hospital School of nursing.

The Wheatley-Provident Hospital (Kansas City) is Founded

The 1916 founding of Wheatley-Provident hospital is celebrated on this date. It was the first medical facility to serve the Black community of Kansas City, MO.

Created in 1910 as the Perry Sanitarium and Training School for Nurses, it was named after Dr. J. Edward Perry. The hospital, however, had become too small and outdated to fully serve the community’s needs. Through the efforts of many area civic groups, Wheatley-Provident was replaced by Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital. On June 12, 1972, the last patients of Wheatley-Provident were moved to the new hospital.

Mamie Clark, Child Psychologist born.

Mamie Phipps Clark was born on this date in 1917. She was an African American educator (child psychology), community activist and administrator.

Dunbar Hospital (Detroit) is Founded

Dunbar Hospital in Detroit, MI, was founded on this date in 1918.

Dr. Charles Watts, Physician born

*Dr Charles Watts was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American physician, surgeon, and activist for the poor.