Black - African American History Facts

In the case of Joseph Cinque and over 50 other slaves' attempt to free themselves from the slave ship Amistad, a Circuit Court of Appeals upheld their not guilty verdict of murder and mutiny on this date in 1840.

The American Missionary Association school, established in Fort Monroe, VA, opened on this date in 1861. This school, founded for the education of freedmen, had a black teacher named Mary Peake.

W. A. Lavalette, inventor, patented the Printing Press on this date in 1878. Patent # 208,208.

Andrew "Rube" Foster, organizer of the Negro Baseball League, the first black baseball league, was born in Galveston, TX, on this date in 1879.

Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the major leagues, was named National League "Rookie of the Year" on this date in 1947.

Vanessa L. Williams, a 21-year-old junior at Syracuse University, captured the 1984 "Miss America" title on this date in 1983. Competing as "Miss New York," Williams was the first black woman to win the "Miss America" pageant.