People, Locations, Episodes

Benjamin Banneker, Astronomer and Mathematician born

Benjamin Banneker was born on this date in 1731. He was a self-taught, Black astronomer and mathematician.

Banneker and his sisters were born free and grew up on a self-sufficient, 100-acre tobacco farm in Ellicott, MD. Growing up, he spent much of his free time devising and solving mathematical puzzles. It was not until after his retirement from farming at the age of 59 that Banneker began to study astronomy through borrowed books, becoming a man of science and mathematics through unassisted experimentation and close observation of natural phenomena.

Josephine Silone Yates, STEM Professor born

*Josephine Silone Yates was born on this date in 1859.  She was a Black chemist, journalist, and educator.   Josephine Silone was the second daughter of Alexander and Parthenia Reeve Silone and was born in Mattituck, NY. During her childhood, her family lived with her maternal grandfather, a freed slave, Lymas Reeves. Her mother taught […]

Herman Marie Moens, Ethnologist born.

*Herman Marie Moens was born on September 25, 1875. He was a white self-proclaimed anthropologist and admirer of eugenics. Herman Marie Bernelot Moens was born in the Netherlands, the son of a naval officer. Although he initially showed little interest in country life, after a mediocre high school result, he enrolled in an education in […]

Theodore Lawless, Dermatologist born

Theodore Lawless was born on this date in 1892. He was an African American dermatologist, philanthropist, and medical pioneer.

Harold Finley, Parapsychologist born

*Harold Finley was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American Parapsychologist and Protozoologist.

From Palatka, Florida Harold Eugene Finley was the son of Eugene and Lugina Finley. He received a Bachelor of Science from Morehouse University in 1928. One year later he received a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin his Ph.D. in Zoology in 1942. Dr. Finley was appointed as Professor at Atlanta University in 1938 where he stayed until 1947.

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.

Bessie Blount, Inventor, and Forensic Scientist born

On this date, we mark the birth of Bessie Blount in 1914, an African American inventor and forensic scientist.

She was born in Hickory, Virginia. Little else is known of her family or her childhood except that she had long wanted to work in the medical field. Blount left home and traveled north to New Jersey to become a physical therapist. She studied at both Panzar College of Physical Education and at Union Junior College. Then she moved to Chicago where she finished her training.

Carolyn B. Parker, Physicist, and Professor born

*Carolyn Parker was born on this date in 1917.  She was a Black physicist and professor.  Carolyn Beatrice Parker was born in Gainesville, Florida. Her father, Julius A. Parker, was a successful physician and pharmacist who graduated from Meharry Medical College, the first medical school for Blacks in the South. Her mother was Della Ella […]

Jane Cooke Wright, Cancer Researcher born

*On this date 1919, Jane Cooke Wright was born. She was an African American doctor and cancer researcher.

Ralph Gardner, Chemist born

On this date in 1922, Ralph Gardner was born. He was an African American scientist who specialized in the development of hard plastics.

Ralph Alexander Gardner’s was born in Cleveland to Vivian Hicks Gardner, a teacher and housewife, and Clarence Chavous Gardner, a musician and government worker. His mother earned a degree from the University of Illinois. While in the eighth and ninth grade Gardner realized that chemistry was his direction in life. Gardner attended the Cleveland Public Schools, graduating from John Adams High School.

J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., Math Educator born

*J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American mathematician and teacher.