People, Locations, Episodes

Dale L. White, Pilot, and Aviation Activist born.

*Dale L. White’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1899. He was a Black pilot and aviation activist. Born in Minden, Louisiana, White moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. In 1932, he attended the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical University. In August 1933, White began his flight training and received his license in June 1936. Along with […]

John C. Robinson, Aviator born

*John Robinson was born on this date in 1905.  He was a Black aviator and activist.  John Charles Robinson was born in Carrabelle, Florida, and spent his early years in Gulfport, Mississippi. His father died when he was a baby, leaving him and his four-year-old sister, Bertha, with their mother, Celeste Robinson, who married Charles Cobb. Robinson was inspired by flight at an […]

Chauncey Spencer, Pilot born

Chauncey Spencer was born on this date in 1906. He was an African American pilot and educator.

He was born in Lynchburg, VA, one of three children of Edward Spencer and noted Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer. One of the most respected families in Lynchburg, visitors to the Spencer home included George Washington Carver, Paul Robeson, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, Clarence Muse, Dean Pickens, Adam Clayton Powell, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B. Dubois.

Frank Mann, Aviator, and Engineer born

On this date we mark the birth of Frank Mann in 1908. He was an African American engineer and designer.

The Challenger Air Pilots Association is formed

*The Challenger Air Pilots Association is celebrated on this date in 1924. Formed by Cornelius Coffey, John Charles Robinson, Willa Brown, and others, it expanded flying opportunities for Blacks in Chicago. Excluded from local airfields, they set up their own at Robbins, Illinois. To become a Pilot

The Negro Formation Flying Group Performs

*On this date in 1931, the Negro Formation Flying Group performed in Los Angeles. This event occurred before the Tuskegee Airmen and served to demonstrate to the public that Blacks were skilled enough to handle an airplane. Put together by William Powell, who had set a date for Labor Day that year, these were three black airplane pilots flying […]

The First Black Airplane Pilot in America is Registered

On this date in 1938, Cornelius Coffey became the first African American registered pilot.

Coffey obtained his commercial license (#36609) so that he could teach both at Curtiss-Wright and then at his own school in Chicago.