People, Locations, Episodes

Frank Horne, Poet, and Optometrist born

*Frank Horne was born on this date in 1899. He was an African American optometrist, administrator and poet.

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.

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, NC, and, despite its 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 World War 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 […]

Oliver Cox, Sociologist born

*On this date in 1901, Oliver Cox was born. He was an Trinidadian sociologist.

From Port of Spain, Trinidad, Oliver Cromwell Cox was one of eight children and was raised by his uncle Reginald who was a teacher.

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. […]

Arthur C. Logan, Surgeon born.

*The birth of Arthur Logan is celebrated on February 21 c. 1905. He was a Black surgeon. Arthur C. Logan was the youngest of nine children born in Tuskegee, Alabama. His father was Warren Logan, and his mother was Adele Hunt Logan. He came from a family known for valuing education and decorum to transcend […]

William W. Cardozo, Sickle Cell Researcher born

*William Warrick Cardozo was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American physician and pediatrician.

From Washington D.C. Cardozo attended the public schools in his hometown. His father was Frederick Lewis Cardozo and his mother was Blanche Warrick. He also attended Hampton Institute and went to Ohio State University where he received his AB in 1929 and MD in 1933. He was an intern at City Hospital and took a two-year fellowship at Children’s Hospital and Provident Hospital in Chicago. He is best remembered for his pioneering investigations into sickle cell anemia.