July 29, 1962 Tidjane Thiam, the first black person to head a FTSE 100 (the 100 most highly capitalized companies in the United Kingdom) company, was born in Cote d’Ivoire. Thiam spent most of his childhood in Paris. In 1984, he received an engineering degree from the École Polytechnique and in 1986 a degree in […]
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July 29th in African American History – Luther Henderson
July 29, 2003 Luther Henderson, arranger, composer, orchestrator, and pianist, died. Henderson was born March 14, 1919 in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1942, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the Juilliard School of Music. From 1944 to 1946, Henderson served as staff orchestrator for the United States Navy School of Music. Henderson served […]
July 28th in African American History – Cordy Tindell Vivian
July 28, 1924 Cordy Tindell Vivian, minister, author and civil rights activist, was born in Howard, Missouri. Vivian’s first professional job was recreation director for the Carver Community Center in Peoria, Illinois where he participated in his first sit-in demonstrations, successfully integrating Barton’s Cafeteria in 1947. From 1955 to 1959, Vivian studied at American Baptist […]
July 28th in African American History – Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (Rev. Ike)
July 28, 2009 Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (Rev. Ike), minister and evangelist, died. Rev. Ike was born June 1, 1935 in Ridgeland, South Carolina. He began his career as a teenage preacher. After serving the United States Air Force, he founded the United Church of Jesus Christ for All People in Beaufort, South Carolina, the […]
July 27th in African American History – Clarence LaVaughn “C. L.” Franklin
July 27, 1984 Clarence LaVaughn “C. L.” Franklin, minister and civil rights activist, died. Franklin was born January 22, 1915 in Sunflower County, Mississippi. At the age of 16, Franklin became a preacher working the black preaching circuit before settling at churches in Memphis, Tennessee and later Buffalo, New York.
July 27th in African American History – Harry “Sweets” Edison
July 27, 1999 Harry “Sweets” Edison, jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger, died. Edison was born October 10, 1915 in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of 12, he began playing the trumpet with local bands. In 1937, he moved to New York City and joined the Count Basie Orchestra where he came to prominence as a […]
July 26th in African American History – Charles Albert Tindley
July 26, 1933 Charles Albert Tindley, gospel music composer and Methodist minister, died. Tindley was born July 7, 1851 in Berlin, Maryland. At birth, Tindley’s father was enslaved, but his mother was free, therefore he was considered free. Tindley was primarily self-educated, but he did attend night courses and took correspondence courses as the Boston […]