Black - African American History Facts

Jan E. Matzeliger, inventor and businessman, was born in Paramaribo, Dutch Guinea, on this date in 1852.

Claude McKay, novelist, "Harlem Renaissance" poet, and the first black person to write a best seller in fiction-Home to Harlem (1928)-was born in Jamaica on this date in 1890.

The National Afro-American Council was founded in Rochester, NY, on this date in 1898. Bishop Alexander Walters of the AME Zion Church was elected as the group's first president.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, jazz saxophonist and bandleader, was born in Tampa, FL, on this date in 1928.

Addie Mae Collins, Carol Robertson, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley, all young girls, were killed when the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, was bombed on this date in 1963. Robert E. Chambliss, a white supremacist, was later convicted of the racist attack. Thomas E. Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry were also charged in their deaths on May 17, 2000.

The elections of Dr. Stanley Smith and Rev. K. L. Buford to the Tuskegee City Council made them Alabama's first black elected officials of the 20th century on this date in 1964.

Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks in the New Orleans Superdome and regained his WBA World Heavyweight Boxing Championship title on this date in 1978. Ali then became the first three-time heavyweight champion. He also received the UN "Messenger of Peace Award" on this date in 1998.

Jan E. Matzeliger, inventor and businessman, was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp on this date in 1991.