1619
17 black men and 3 black women land at Jamestown, Virginia, on August
20th. Possibly the first Africans to arrive in what will later be
the U.S., they are accorded the status of indentured servants.
1623
- 1624
The first black person born in America was William, son of Anthony
and Isabelle, indentured servants.
1644
11 blacks petitioned the Council of New Netherlands for freedom--the
first black legal protest in America. The Council freed them because
they had "served the Company 17 or 18 years" and had "long
since been promised their freedom."
1760
Jupiter Hammon, a New York slave, was the first black poet. He wrote
An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries.
1770s
Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable was the first settler in Chicago.
1770
Crispus Attucks died in the Boston Massacre.
1773
Phillis Wheatley was the first author and first major black poet.
She wrote Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. It was the
second book published by an American woman.
1777
Vermont became the first state to abolish slavery.
1780
Lemuel Haynes of the Congregational Church was the first black minister
certified by a predominantly white denomination.
1787
The first general institution organized and managed by blacks was
the Free African Society of Philadelphia. The first black Masonic
lodge was African Lodge No. 459 in Boston. James Derham, a former
slave, was the first black physician. He bought his freedom and established
a large practice among both blacks and whites.
1792
The first scientific writing by a black person was produced by astronomer
and mathematician Benjamin Banneker, writing in his almanac, which
was issued annually after 1792.
1804
Lemuel Haynes was the first black to receive a degree from a U.S.
college, an honorary M.A. from Middlebury College.
1810
The first black insurance company was the American Insurance Company
of Philadelphia.
1816
Richard Allen was the first black bishop, elected at the general convention
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
1818
Frank Johnson became the first black to publish sheet music in the
U.S.
1820s
The first black drama group was the African Company of New York City.
1821
Thomas L. Jennings was the first African American to receive a patent,
issued on March 3rd.
1822
James Hall graduated from the Medical College of Maine, the first
black to graduate from a U.S. medical college.
1823
Alexander Lucius Twilight was the first black college graduate, who
received a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College.
1827
Freedom's Journal, published in New York City, was the first black
newspaper.
1830
The first black national convention met at Philadelphia's Bethel African
Methodist Episcopal Church.
1832
Maria W. Stewart began an unprecedented public speaking tour at Franklin
Hall in Boston. She was the first woman in the U.S. to engage in public
political debates.
1834
Henry Blair of Maryland was the first black inventor to receive a
patent. He invented a corn planter.
1836
Alexander Lucius Twilight was the first black elected to public office
(the Vermont legislature).
1837
Cheyney State Training School in Pennsylvania was the first black
college established.
1838
Mirror of Liberty, published in New York, was the first black magazine.
1843
Macon B. Allen of Maine was the first black lawyer.
1853
William Wells Brown, who wrote Clotel: or, The President's Daughter,
was the first black novelist.
1854
John V. DeGrasse was the first black to be admitted to a medical society,
the Massachusetts Medical Society.
1858
William Wells Brown was the first black playwright. He wrote The Escape.
1862
Mary Jane Patterson was the first black woman to graduate from an
American college--Oberlin College.
1863
The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first African
American regiment from a northern state to join the U.S. Army during
the Civil War. Sgt. William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers
was the first black to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was
1 of 20 blacks who fought during the Civil War to receive Congressional
Medals of Honor, although the honor was not awarded until May 23,
1900.
1864
Rebecca Lee of Boston was the first black woman physician. The New
Orleans Tribune, founded by Dr. Louis C. Roudanez, was the first black
daily newspaper.
1865
John S. Rock of Massachusetts was the first black lawyer admitted
to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Patrick Francis Healy was
the first black to receive a Ph.D.
1866
Lucy Hobbs was the first black woman to graduate from dental school.
1867
Robert Tanner Freeman of Harvard University was the first black to
graduate from an American school of dentistry.
1869
Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett became the first black diplomat and the
first black to receive a major government appointment--President Grant
appointed him minister to Haiti.
John
Willis Menard of Louisiana became the first black to speak on the
floor of the House when he pleaded his own case concerning the election
he had just won when he was denied a seat.
1870
Hiram Rhodes Revels of Mississippi became the first black U.S. senator
when he was elected to fill the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis.
He was the first black in Congress. Joseph R. Rainey was the first
black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jonathan
Jasper Wright was the first black judge. He was elected to the South
Carolina Supreme Court.
James
W. Smith of South Carolina was the first black student at West Point
Military Academy.
1872
P.B.S. Pinchback became the first black governor (Louisiana).
John
Henry Conyers of South Carolina was the first black student at Annapolis
Naval Academy. Charlotte E. Ray was the first black woman lawyer.
1874
The first black to preside over the House of Representatives was Rep.
Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina.
Patrick
Francis Healy was inaugurated president of Georgetown University,
the oldest Catholic university in the U.S. Healy was the first African-American
to head a predominantly white university.
1875
The first black to serve a full term as a U.S. senator was Blanche
Kelso Bruce of Mississippi.
Oliver
Lewis became the first black jockey--and the first jockey--to win
the Kentucky Derby. 13 or 14 jockeys in the 1st race were black.
James
A. Healy was the first black bishop of a predominantly white denomination,
the Roman Catholic Church.
1876
Edward A. Bouchet was the first black to receive a Ph.D. degree from
an American university, Yale University.
1877
Frederick Douglass became the first black to receive a major government
appointment in the U.S., the U.S. marshal of the District of Columbia.
Henry
O. Flipper was the first black to graduate from West Point.
1878
Mary Eliza Mahoney enrolled in the New England Hospital Nursing School
on March 26th. She became the first professionally trained African-American
nurse in the U.S.
1879
Blanche Kelso Bruce became the first black to preside over the U.S.
Senate.
1881
The first African-American nursing school in the country opened at
Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
1884
John R. Lynch was the first black to preside over a national political
convention (Republican).
Moses
Fleetwood Walker was the first black in major league baseball, a catcher
on the Toledo team of the American Association.
1886
Matthew Henson moved in with his sister Eliza in Washington, D.C.
working as a stock boy for a haberdashery, he met civil engineer Lieutenant
Robert Peary and began work with him as a valet. He proved himself
more useful as a colleague, going with Peary on his crossings of northern
Greenland in 1891-1892 and 1893-1895, lending invaluable support during
the explorer's repeated struggles to reach the North Pole. He pushed
Peary forward during periods of despair and saved his life on more
than one occasion. He was also able to deal with the Intuits, who
taught him to drive dogsleds and survive in their world, when the
arrogant Peary could not convince them to lift a finger on his behalf.
1888
Capital Savings Bank of Washington, D.C., was the first black bank.
1890
George Dixon was the first black world champion in boxing, defeating
Nunc Wallace in the 18th round.
1892
Playing for center Harvard, William H. Lewis was the first black All-American
from a major college.
1893
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful operation
on the human heart at Chicago's Provident Hospital.
1896
Oriental America was the first Broadway production with an all-black
company.
1897
Edwin P. "King" McCabe founded Langston University in Oklahoma,
the first African American A & M College.
1898
A Trip to Coontown was the first black musical comedy produced, directed
and managed by blacks. It ran for 3 seasons in New York.
1900
"Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" was first performed.
1901
Joe Walcott defeated Rube Ferns in 5 rounds to become the first black
welterweight champion.
1902
Joe Gans became the first black lightweight champion by knocking out
Frank Erne in the 1st round.
1903
Maggie Lena Walker founded the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank, becoming
the first black woman to head a bank.
1904
George Poage was the first black to compete in the Olympics.
1907
Alain L. Locke was the first black Rhodes scholar.
1908
Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight-boxing champion. He defeated
Tommy Burns.
1912
W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" was the first published blues
number. Bill Foster's comedy, The Railroad Porter was the first black
film.
1914
Sam Lucas was the first black actor in a full-length Hollywood film--he
played Tom in Uncle Tom's Cabin.
1915
The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first black movie production
company.
Ernest
E. Just received the first Springarn Medal for pioneering research
on fertilization and cell division.
1917
Tally Holmes and Lucy Stone were the first black players to win the
American Tennis Association championship.
1919
Fritz Pollard was the first black professional football player. He
was also the first black coach--he was a player-coach for the Indians.
He coached them to a world professional championship in 1920.
1920
James Weldon Johnson became the first black secretary of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People--he was preceded
by 3 white women and 2 white men.
1921
In June, aviator Bessie Coleman became the first African American
and woman to be licensed as an international pilot.
Georgiana
Simpson and Sadie M. Alexander were the first black women awarded
Ph.D. degrees one day apart.
1923
The Chipwoman's Fortune was the first Broadway play by a black writer
(Willis Richardson).
1924
DeHart Hubbard was the first black to win an Olympic gold medal. Dixie
to Broadway, "the first real revue by Negroes," opened in
New York City. Florence Mills starred.
1926
The First Negro History Week was observed.
Tiger
Flowers became the first black middleweight champion, defeating Harry
Greb in 15 rounds.
1928
Archibald Motley was the first black artist to have a show at the
New Gallery of New York.
1929
The first feature-length black Hollywood films were Hearts in Dixie
and Hallelujah.
1933
Caterina Jarboro was the first black to perform with an American opera
company, the Chicago Opera Company.
1934
Caterina Jarboro was the first flack prima donna of an opera company,
performing Aida at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
1936
Mary McLeod Bethune was the first black woman to receive a major appointment
from the U.S. government. She was named Director of Negro Affairs
of the National Youth Administration.
Jesse
Owens defied Hitler's racist predictions and won four gold medals
at the Summer Olympics in Berlin.
1938
Crystal Bird Fauset of Pennsylvania was the first black woman elected
to a state legislature.
1939
Way Down South was the first film with a script by black writers (Langston
Hughes and Clarence Muse).
Jane
Matilda Bolin was the first black woman judge (in New York City).
The
first full-length black film was Oscar Micheaux's Birthright.
1940
Hattie McDaniel was the first black to receive an Oscar for her supporting
role in Gone With the Wind.
Benjamin
O. Davis Sr. was the first black general in the regular army. President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed him.
Booker
T. Washington was the first black to be pictured on a U.S. postage
stamp--the 10-cent stamp.
1943
W.E.B. Du Bois was the first black admitted to the National Institute
of Arts and Letters.
1945
Nat King Cole was the first black with his own network radio show.
1946
Kenny Washington of the Los Angeles Rams was the first black player
in professional football in the modern era. He played for the Los
Angeles Rams.
1947
Jackie Robinson was the first black in the major leagues in the modern
era. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The first black players in
a World Series were Jackie Robinson and Dan Bankhead, who played with
the Brooklyn Dodgers in the play-offs against the New York Yankees.
1948
Alice Coachman was the first black woman to win a gold medal in the
Olympics.
1949
The first black-owned radio station was WERD in Atlanta.
1950
Edith S. Sampson became the first black named to the U.S. delegation
to the United Nations.
The
Boston Celtics signed Charles Cooper and the New York Knicks purchased
Harlem Globetrotter Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton's contract.
They were the first black players in the NBA. Ralph J. Bunche, undersecretary
of the U.N., was the first black to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Gwendolyn
Brooks was the first black to receive a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
Althea
Gibson was the first African American invited to enter the all-England
tournament at Wimbleton.
Arthur
Dorrington of the Atlantic City Seagulls was the first black man in
organized hockey to suit up.
1951
Amos 'n' Andy moved to television, the first TV show to have an all-black
cast.
1952
Jackie Robinson was named Director of Communication for NBC, becoming
the first black executive of a major radio-TV network.
1953
Lorraine Williams was the first black to win a nationally recognized
tennis title, the junior girls' championship.
1954
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first black general in the U.S. Air
Force.
1955
E. Frederic Morrow was the first black named to an executive position
in the White House. He was appointed administrative aide to President
Eisenhower.
Marian
Anderson was the first black signed by the Metropolitan Opera. She
appeared as Ulrica in Verdi's The Masked Ball on January 7th.
The
Brooklyn Dodgers took to the field, making history as the first team
with a majority of black players.
1956
Nat King Cole was the first black with his own network TV show, The
Nat King Cole Show. Althea Gibson was the first African American to
win a major tennis title--the French Open. She also toured worldwide
as a member of a national tennis team supported by the U.S. State
Department.
1957
Charles Sifford was the first black to win a major professional golf
tournament (Long Beach Open). Althea Gibson was the first black to
win a major U.S. national tennis championship. She also won both the
women's single and doubles at Wimbledon; she was greeted in New York
City with a ticker tape parade in celebration of her win.
1958
Clifton R. Wharton Sr. was the first black to head a U.S. embassy
in Europe. He was minister to Rumania. Althea Gibson was the first
black voted female athlete of the year. Ruth Carol Taylor was the
first black woman to become a stewardess. Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin
in the Sun was the first Broadway play by a black woman to be produced.
1960
Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun was the first Broadway play
by a black writer to win the New York Drama Critics Award.
1961
Robert C. Weaver was the first black to head a major agency of the
U.S. government as administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency.
Ernest
Davis of Syracuse was the first black to win the Heisman Memorial
Trophy.
With
a contract for $85,000, Willie Mays was making more money than any
other baseball player.
1962
Jackie Robinson was the first black inducted into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame. John "Buck" O'Neil was the first black coach
of a major league baseball team, the Chicago Cubs.
1963
Sidney Poitier was the first black to receive an Academy Award for
best actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field.
1964
Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest person awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize--he was 35.
Arthur
Ashe was the first African-American to play on the U.S. Davis Cup
tennis team.
1965
Patricia R. Harris took the post of U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, becoming
the first African-American U.S. ambassador.
1966
Robert C. Weaver became the first black cabinet member when appointed
by President Johnson to be secretary of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
Andrew
F. Brimmer was the first black governor of the Federal Reserve Board.
Emmett Ashford was the first black umpire in the major leagues. Andrew
F. Brimmer was the first black governor of the Federal Reserve Board.
1967
Emlen Tunnell, a defensive back for the New York Giants, was the first
black elected to the Football Hall of Fame.
Thurgood
Marshall became the first black Supreme Court justice.
1968
Henry Lewis was the first black musical director of an American orchestra,
the New Jersey Symphony.
Shirley
Chisholm was the first black woman in Congress.
Moneta
J. Sleet Jr. of Ebony magazine was the first black male to receive
a Pulitzer Prize for photography.
1970
Joseph L. Searles III became the first black on the New York Stock
Exchange.
Cheryl
Brown, Miss Iowa, was the first African-American contestant in the
nation's most popular beauty pageant.
1971
Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. was the first black admiral in the U.S. Navy.
1972
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman nominated for president
of the U.S. Jerome H. Holland was the first black elected to the board
of directors of the New York Stock Exchange.
Bob
Douglas, owner and coach of the New York Renaissance (which won 88
consecutive games in 1933) was the first black man to be elected to
the Basketball Hall of Fame.
1975
Lee Elder was the first black to play in the Masters Tournament at
Augusta, Georgia. The first black-owned TV station was Detroit's WGPR-TV.
1976
Patricia R. Harris was the first black woman named to the cabinet
of a U.S. president. Jimmy Carter appointed her secretary of the Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
1979
The first black general in the Marine Corps was Frank E. Peterson,
Jr. Hazel Johnson was appointed the first black woman general.
1983
Guion Steward Bluford, Jr. was the first black in space. Vanessa Williams,
Miss New York, was crowned the first black Miss America.
1986
Navy Lt. Commander Donnie Cochran became the first black pilot to
fly with the celebrated Blue Angels precision aerial demonstration
team.
Debi
Thomas was the first black to win a world figure skating championship.
1988
The Most Reverend Eugene Antonio Marino became the nation's first
black Roman Catholic archbishop during an installation mass in the
Atlantic Civic Center.
1989
Oprah Winfrey became the first black to own her own television and
film production company, Harpo Studios, Inc.
2002
Vonetta Flowers was the first African-American to win a gold medal
in a Winter Olympics. She wins in the women's bobsleigh event on February
19th.
Then
on March 24th, Actress Halle Berry became the first African-American
woman to win the Academy Award for best actress for the film Monster's
Ball.