We’re kicking off fall with Black history facts!
Here’s some Black history that you may not have learned, brought to you by Black Facts:
September 1
1867 – Robert T Freeman becomes the first Black person to graduate from Harvard Dental School.
1975 – Gen. Daniel (“Chappie”) James Jr. promoted to rank of four-star general and named commander-in-chief of the North American Air Defense Command
September 2
1975 – Joseph W. Hatchett was sworn in as the first Black supreme court justice in the South in the twentieth century
September 3
1895 – NAACP leader, Charles Hamilton Houston, was born
1931 — Geraldine W. Travis becomes the first Black woman elected to the Montana State Legislature House of Representatives
1970 — Representatives from the 27 African nations, the Caribbean nations, four South American countries, Australia, and the U.S. meet in Atlanta for the first Congress of African People
September 4
1848 — Inventor and engineer, Louis Latimer, was born
September 5
1846 — Secretary of the American Negro Academy, John W Cromwell, was born
1895 — Republican George Washington Murray was elected to Congress by South Carolina
September 6
1930 — Leander Jay Shaw, Jr., justice of the Florida State Supreme Court (1983), first African American chief justice (1990) in Florida, the second African American chief justice in any state supreme court
September 7
1917 — Noted Black painter Jacob Lawrence was born
1930 — Jazz icon, Sonny Rollins, was born
1954 — The start of Integration in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD public schools
2022 — Frances Tiafoe becomes the first Black man to reach the US Open semifinals since Arthur Ashe
September 8
1901 — Second Executive Director of the NAACP, Roy Wilkins, died
1954 — American Civil Rights Activist, Ruby Bridges, is born
September 9
1908 — Noted author of Native Son Richard Wright was born
1915 — Association for the study of Negro Life and History founded by Carter G. Woodson
1941 — Songwriter and record producer, Otis Redding, was born
1957 — The first civil rights bill since reconstruction was passed by President Eisenhower
1968 — Arthur Ashe becomes first Black U.S. Men’s Singles Tennis Champion
September 10
1973 – The U.S. Postal Service honored Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first African American artist elected to the National Academy of Design with a commemorative stamp
1976 - Educator and Howard University President, Mordecai W. Johnson, died
September 11
1913 — Track star and Olympic medalist, Jesse Owens, was born
1959 — Duke Ellington won the Springarn Medal for his musical achievements
1977 — Quincy Jones won an Emmy for musical composition for the miniseries, Roots
September 12
1947 — Jackie Robinson was named National League Rookie of the Year
1992 — Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman in space
September 13
1881 — Lewis Latimer invented and patented an electric lamp with a carbon filament
1886 — Philosopher Alain L. Lovke was born
September 14
1940 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Selective Service Act, allowing Black people to enter all branches of the US Military Service
September 15
1830 — The first National Negro Convention began in Philadelphia
1852 — Inventor Jan E. Matzeliger, who patented a shoe lasting machine, was born
1964 — Rev. K.L. Buford and Dr. Stanley Smith were elected to Tuskegee City Council and became the first Black elected officials in Alabama in twentieth century
September 16
1848 — The French abolish Slavery in all their territories
1889 — Birthday of Claude A. Barnett, founder of the Associated Negro Press, the first and only Black news wire services in the US. Barnett, who died in 1967, was a 1906 graduate of Tuskegee Institute
September 17
1861 — First day of school for freed men founded at Fortress Monroe, VA with a Black teacher, Mary Peake
1861 — Hampton Institute founded
1983 — Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss. America.
September 18
1850 — Congress passed Fugitive Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850
1948 — Ralph J. Bunche confirmed by United Nations Security Council as acting UN mediator in Palestine
September 19
1881 — Booker T. Washington opens the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
1956 — First international conference of Black writers and artists in Paris
September 20
1830 — First National Black Convention meets
1987 — Alfre Woodard wins an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performance
September 21
1872 — John Henry Conyers of South Carolina became the first Black student at Annapolis Naval Academy
1891 — Inventor, FW Leslie, patents the envelope seal
September 22
1915 — Xavier University, first Black Catholic College in US, opened in New Orleans, LA
1950 — Ralph Bunche becomes the first Black person to receive a Nobel Prize.
September 23
1863 — Civil Rights Activist and the Black person to serve on the DC board of education, Mary Church Terrell was born
1926 — Innovative and famed jazz musician, John Coltrane, was born
1930 — Singer, songwriter, and musician Ray Charles was born
September 24
1957 — Desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
1977 — John T. Walker installed as the first Black bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
September 25
1861 — Secretary of Navy authorized enlistment of slaves as Union sailors
1962 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson in the first round and became the world heavyweight boxing champion
1974 — Barbara W Hancock becomes the first Black woman named a White House fellow
September 26
1867 — Business and civic leader, Maggie L Walker, was born
1968 — The Studio Museum of Harlem opens in NYC
September 27
1827 — The first Black U.S. Senator, Hiram R. Revels, was born
1950 — Charles H. Houston was awarded the Spingarn Medal for his pioneering work in developing the NAACP legal campaign
1954 — School integration began in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, MD, public schools
September 28
1829 — Black Abolitionist, David Walker, was born
September 29
1910 — National Urban League was founded
1975 — WGPR-TV, the first fully Black-owned and operated television station in the U.S., debuted
September 30
1935 — John “Johnny” Royce Mathis, singer, was born in Gilmer, Texas
1975 — Boxing legend Muhammad Ali won the “Thrilla in Manilla” fight against Joe Frazier
1991 — Mike Powell broke the world long jump record when he jumped 8.95 meters at a meet in Tokyo, Japan
PHOTO: CUNYEDU/NASA/Fight Sports/NPR/Zentist