Black - African American History Facts

Black minutemen joined their white counterparts to fight the British at Concord and Lexington, MA, on this date in 1775. Lemuel Haynes was among the black soldiers who fought in the American Revolution.

Cheyney State College (Cheyney, PA), one of the oldest black colleges in the United States, was founded as a school for black males on this date in 1837.

A bomb destroyed the home of Z. Alexander Looby, NAACP attorney and Nashville, TN, City Councilman, on this date in 1960. Other homes were damaged and over 100 windows were blown out at nearby Meharry Medical College injuring several students.

Major General Frederic E. Davidson assumed command of the Eighth Infantry Division in Germany and became the first black person to lead an Army division on this date in 1972.

Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer synthesizer of cortisone drugs and holder of more than 138 chemical patents, died on this date in 1975.