January 20, 1997 Curtis Charles Flood, former professional baseball player, died. Flood was born January 18, 1938 in Houston, Texas and made his major league debut in 1956. Flood spent most of his 15 season professional career with the St. Louis Cardinals and was a three-time All-Star selection and a seven-time Golden Glove winner.
Archive | January, 2012
January 19th in African American History – Wilson Pickett
January 19, 2006 Wilson Pickett, soul singer and songwriter, died. Pickett was born March 18, 1941 in Prattville, Alabama. He grew up singing in church choirs. In 1955, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where his forceful and passionate style of singing was developed. In 1959, he joined the Falcons and in 1962 they released “I […]
January 19th in African American History – Carl Maxie Brashear
January 19, 1931 Carl Maxie Brashear, the first African American to become a United States Navy master diver, was born in Tonieville, Kentucky. Brashear enlisted in the navy in 1948 and graduated from the U.S. Navy Diving & Salvage School in 1954, becoming the first African American navy diver. In 1966, while involved in the […]
January 18th in African American History – Davis Eli “David” Ruffin
January 18, 1941 Davis Eli “David” Ruffin, former lead singer of The Temptations, was born in Whynot, Mississippi. Ruffin began singing as a young child in a family gospel group. In 1957, he moved to Detroit and recorded his first single, “You and I” (1958). Other early recordings include “I’m In Love” (1961), and “Knock […]
January 18th in African American History – Daniel Hale Williams
January 18, 1856 Daniel Hale Williams, the first African American cardiologist in the United States, was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Williams graduated from Chicago Medical College (now Northwestern University Medical School) in 1883. In 1891, he founded Provident Hospital, the first integrated hospital in the United States, and training school for nurses in Chicago, Illinois.
January 17th in African American History – Anna Arnold Hedgeman
January 17, 1990 Anna Arnold Hedgeman, educator, author and civil rights leader, died. Hedgeman was born July 5, 1899 in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1918, she enrolled at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, becoming their first African American student, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1922.
January 17th in African American History – Barbara Charline Jordan
January 17, 1996 Barbara Charline Jordan, the first African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives from a southern state, died. Jordan was born February 21, 1936 in Houston, Texas. In 1966, she became the first black woman to be elected to the Texas State Senate. She served in that body […]