People, Locations, Episodes

The Howard Colored Orphans Asylum Opens

*On this date in 1866, the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum is celebrated. This was one of the few American orphanages to be led by and for Blacks. It was on Troy Avenue and Dean Street in Weeksville, New York City. Black Presbyterian minister Henry M. Wilson, black widow Sarah A. Tillman, and white general Oliver Otis […]

Monroe N. Work, Sociologist born

*On this date in 1866, Monroe N. Work was born.  He was a Black sociologist.   Monroe Nathan Work was born to former slaves in Iredell County, North Carolina, and moved in 1867 to Cairo, Illinois, where his father pursued farming. At 23, Work entered Arkansas City High School (Kansas), an integrated high school in Arkansas City, Kansas. He graduated 3rd in his class, and after undergoing […]

Lewis Baxter Moore, Educator, and Minister born

*Lewis Baxter Moore was born on this date in 1866. He was a Black educator, minister, and administrator. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Moore received his B.A. in 1889 and his M.A. in 1893 from Fisk University in Nashville. Lewis Baxter Moore’s first wife was Sadie Elizabeth Tanner, a sister of the artist Henry O. Tanner, physician Halle Tanner, and […]

Lincoln University of Missouri is Founded

*Lincoln University of Missouri began classes on this date in 1866. One of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America, they have a very interesting history.

At the close of the Civil War, soldiers and officers of the 62nd United States Colored Infantry, stationed at Fort McIntosh, Texas, but composed primarily of Missourians, took steps to establish an educational institution in Jefferson City, Missouri, which they named Lincoln Institute. The following stipulations were set for the school:

Shorter College is Founded

*On this date in 1866, we celebrate the founding of Shorter College.  They are a private, historically black junior college (HBCU) in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was founded as Bethel Institute by the African Methodist Episcopal Church and offered bachelor’s degrees until 1955. The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools accredits it. Daisy […]

Dock J. Jordan, Educator, and Author born

*D. J. Jordan was born on this date in 1866. He was a Black lawyer, author, politician, educator, historian, and activist.    Dock Jackson Jordan was born to Giles and Julia Jordan in Cuthbert, Georgia. Giles Dolphus Jordan was born a slave in 1840 in South Carolina and died in 1898 in Early County, Georgia. […]

The Colored School of Watsonville, CA., Opens For Classes

On this date in 1866, The Colored School in Watsonville, CA, was established.

James Diggs, Activist, College President, and Pastor born

*James Diggs was born on this date in 1866. He was a Black activist, college president, and pastor. From Upper Marlboro, Maryland, James Robert Lincoln Diggs was the son of John Henry Diggs and Mary Virginia Clark Diggs. Little is known about his childhood or youth. Diggs lived in Washington, D.C., in 1885 when he […]

Howard University is Founded

On this date in 1866, Howard University, one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)’s in America, was founded.

General Oliver O. Howard established Howard Theological Seminary in an abandoned dance hall, today called Howard University. From its outset, it was nonsectarian and open to people of both sexes and all races..

With a campus covering 89 acres in northwest Washington D.C., more than 11,000 students, including 7,000 undergraduates, are currently enrolled there and 88 per cent are African American.

Rust College is Founded

Rust College, one of the first institutions of higher education in Mississippi was founded on this date in 1866. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in America.

Rust College was organized by missionaries from the North who opened a school in Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, where Moses Adams, a local Black preacher, was pastor. The school accepted adults of all ages, as well as children, for instruction in elementary subjects. A year later the first building on the present campus was erected.

Elizabeth Carter Brooks, Educator, and Preservationist born

*This date in 1867 is celebrated as the birth date of Elizabeth Carter Brooks, a Black educator, social activist, and architect. Elizabeth Carter was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Her mother, Martha Webb, was a former slave owned by President John Tyler and involved with the Underground Railroad. Her daughter developed a “passion for equality” […]

Charles Turner, Zoologist, and Inventor born

*On this date in 1867, Charles Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was an African American zoologist and inventor.

Alabama State University Begins Classes

*On this date, 1867, Alabama State University (ALASU) was founded. It is a public Historically Black University (HBCU) in Montgomery, Alabama, and a Thurgood Marshall College Fund member school. ALASU began as the Lincoln Normal School of Marion in Marion, Ala. In December 1873, the State Board accepted the transfer of title to the school after a legislative act was passed authorizing […]

Morehouse College is Founded

*On this date we celebrate the founding of Morehouse College in 1867. This is a private institution for men, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Morehouse College is a member of the 39 United Negro College Fund lists of higher learning institutions.

Johnson C. Smith University is Founded

*On this date in 1867, Johnson C. Smith University was founded. It is one of over 100 historically Black colleges and universities in America.