September 1, 1912 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, composer and musician, died. Coleridge-Taylor was born August 15, 1875 in Holborn, London. He studied violin at the Royal College of Music and by 1896 had earned a reputation as a composer. In 1898, he completed his most well known piece, the cantata “Hiawatha’s Wedding-feast”. Coleridge-Taylor was greatly appreciated by […]
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Ethel Waters – September 1st in African American History
a href=”http://todayinafricanamericanhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Ethel-Waters.jpg” target=”_blank”> September 1, 1977 Ethel Waters, blues and jazz vocalist and actress, died. Waters was born on October 31, 1896 in Chester, Pennsylvania. She began to sing professionally in 1913 in Baltimore, Maryland. For several years she toured on the Black vaudeville circuit. In 1921, Waters became the fifth Black woman to make […]
Charles “Bird” Parker, Jr – August 29th in African American History
August 29, 1920 Charles “Bird” Parker, Jr., jazz saxophonist and composer, was born in Kansas City, Kansas. Parker began playing the saxophone at age 11 and by 1938 was touring nightclubs and other venues in the southwest. In 1939, Parker moved to New York City where on November 26, 1945 he led a recording session […]