People, Locations, Episodes

Virginia Alexander, Physician born

*Virginia Alexander was born on this date in 1899. She was a Black physician, public health researcher, and administrator.   Virginia Margaret Alexander was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Hilliard Alexander and Virginia Pace. She had four siblings, including attorney Raymond Pace Alexander. Alexander’s mother died when she was four years old, and at age […]

Percy L. Julian, Chemist, and Teacher born

Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was born on this date in 1899. This African American research chemist was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of drugs used in medicine.

Robert W. Johnson, Doctor, and Tennis Mentor born

*Robert W. Johnson was born on this date in 1899.  He was a Black physician and community activist.   Robert Walter Johnson was born in Norfolk, VA.  He graduated in 1924 from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania; he was a classmate of Melvin B. Tolson. Following a college career playing football at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University as a […]

Modjeska Simkins, Social Reformer born

*On this date in 1899, Mary Modjeska Monteith Simkins, an important leader of African American public health reform, social reform, and the civil rights movement in South Carolina, was born in Columbia.

She was the first of eight children. Her parents, Henry and Rachel Monteith, named her after a favorite Polish actress Helena Modjeska. The Monteiths were a prosperous couple who encouraged their children in academic studies.

Ruth W. Howard Beckman, Psychologist born

*Ruth Winifred Howard (Beckham) was born on this date in 1900. She was an African American educator, social worker, and psychologist.

Major Spaulding, Agronomist born

*Major Franklin Spaulding was born on this date in 1900. He was an African American Agronomist.

From Clarkston, North Carolina he received his B.A. from North Carolina State College and Cornell in 1925 and 1927. Spaulding earned his M.S. from Cornell in 1928. From 1928 to 1937 Spaulding taught Agronomy at North Carolina State. He earned his Ph.D from Massachusetts State University in 1935. Spaulding’s dissertation was “Factors influencing the rate of decomposition of Different Types of Plant Tissues in Soils and the Effects of Products on Plant Growth”.

Lena Edwards, Doctor, and Administrator born

*Lena Frances Edwards was born on this date in 1900. She was an African American medical doctor.

John McNeile Hunter, Chemist, and Professor born

*John McNeile Hunter was born on this date in 1901.  He was a Black chemist and professor.  From Woodville, Texas, he was the oldest son of John Alexander Hunter and Mary Evelyn Virginia (Edwards) Hunter. His father, a former school principal, had moved to Texas from Louisiana soon after his marriage to Edwards, who had […]

Estelle Massey Riddle, Nursing Educator born

*Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne was born on this date in 1901. She was a Black nurse and educator. She served in many prominent positions and worked to eliminate racial discrimination in nursing. Estelle Massey was born in Palestine, Texas, the eighth of eleven children. Despite being uneducated and working in menial jobs, her parents, Hall and Bettye Estelle […]

Lincoln Hospital (North Carolina) Opens

*The opening of Lincoln Hospital is celebrated on this date in 1901. Lincoln was the third hospital for Blacks in North Carolina. It was located in Durham, N.C., and despite their ability to pay, it was open to all patients. The Lincoln School of Nursing opened the following year with Julia Latta, a St. Agnes […]

Mohammad Helmy, Physician, and Activist born

*Mohammed Helmy was born on this date in 1901. He was a North African Egyptian doctor and an activist during WW II. Helmy was born to an Egyptian army major and a Sudanese mother in Khartoum, Sudan. He went to Berlin in 1922 to study medicine. He would work as head of the urology department […]

Herman G. Canady, Psychologist born

*Herman G. Canady was born on this date in 1901. He was a Black social psychologist, professor, and researcher.  Herman George Canady was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He was the son of Rev. Howard T. and Mrs. Anna Canady. He attended Douglass Elementary School and Favored High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and graduated from George […]

William Donald Brown, Physician born

*Dr. William D. Brown was born on this date in 1902. He was a Black doctor, surgeon, and community advocate. From Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of Dr. Robert S. Brown of Illinois and Julia Perrin of Iowa. His father was the first Black medical doctor licensed to practice in Minneapolis. He graduated from […]

Charles Drew, Physician, and Hematologist born

On this date, in 1904, Dr. Charles Drew was born. He was an African American surgeon and hematologist who made pioneering discoveries about blood plasma and set up blood banks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Thomas P. Dooley, Zoologist born

 *Thomas Dooley was born on this date in 1904. He was a Black Geneticist and Zoologist. From Elberton, Georgia, Thomas Price Dooley earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1927 and a Master of Science from the University of Iowa in 1931. 1939, he also earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Iowa. […]