April 20, 2010 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, died. Height was born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they […]
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April 20th in African American History – Warren Q. Marr II
April 20, 2010 Warren Q. Marr II, co-founder of the Amistad Research Center, died. Marr was born July 31, 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied journalism and printing at Wilberforce University. After graduating, Marr worked for The Plaindealer in Kansas City, Kansas from 1939 to 1942, rising to the position of assistant editor.
April 19th in African American History – Joseph B. Williams, Sr.
April 19, 1992 Joseph B. Williams, Sr., the first African American graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, died. Williams was born in Annapolis, Maryland and graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942. In 1942, he graduated from the academy and served in the U. S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
April 19th in African American History – Percy Lavon Julian
April 19, 1975 Percy Lavon Julian, research chemist and pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, died. Julian was born April 11, 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University in 1920, Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian and became a chemistry professor at Fisk University. In […]
April 18th in African American History – John Henry Lewis
April 18, 1974 John Henry Lewis, hall of fame boxer, died. Lewis was born May 1, 1914 in California but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where his father owned a boxing gym. Lewis began his professional boxing career in 1928 at the age of 14.
April 18h in African American History – Clarence Edward “Big House” Gaines, Sr.
April 18, 2005 Clarence Edward “Big House” Gaines, Sr., Hall of Fame college basketball coach, died. Gaines was born May 21, 1923 in Paducah, Kentucky and attended Lincoln High School where he excelled academically and athletically, graduating as class salutatorian in 1941. Gaines earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Morgan State College […]
April 17th in African American History – Willi Donnell Smith
April 17, 1987 Willi Donnell Smith, one of the most successful young fashion designers in fashion history, died. Smith was born February 29, 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Philadelphia College of Art for fashion illustration and then moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design. He quit Parsons in 1967 to […]