People, Locations, Episodes

Elijah McCoy, Engineer, and Inventor born

Elijah J. McCoy was born on this date in 1843. He was an African American inventor and his work may have been the beginning of the phrase the “Real McCoy.”

Thomas Henry Lyles, Businessman born

*The birth of Thomas Henry Lyles is celebrated on this date in 1843. He was a Black soldier, businessman, and activist. Born in Maryland, Lyles served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  Around 1870, Lyles married  Amanda Lyles, and the couple arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1874. The 1880 Census shows Lyles […]

R. B. Fitzgerald, Businessman born

*This date celebrates the birth of R. B. Fitzgerald, a Black brickmaker and businessman, in 1843.   Richard Burton Fitzgerald was born in New Castle County, Delaware, to Thomas and Sarah (Burton) Fitzgerald. His father was Mulatto of African and Irish ancestry and emancipated from slavery by a white father and master. His mother was white and of English ancestry; she decided to raise […]

The Palladium of Liberty Newspaper is Published

*The Palladium of Liberty published its first issue on this date in 1843.  This was the first newspaper published by Black Ohioans to promote Black civil rights in Ohio. David Jenkins and other Black community leaders launched the Columbus-based weekly.   The Palladium of Liberty was established by the resolutions of two African American citizens’ conventions in 1843, which David […]

Charles Douglass, Government Administrator born

*Charles Douglass was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black soldier, journalist, government clerk, real estate developer, secretary, and treasurer. He was the third and youngest son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass. Charles Remond Douglass was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and named after a friend of his father and anti-slavery […]

Anna M. Mangin, Caterer and Inventor born.

*Anna M. Mangin’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1844. She was a Black inventor, educator, and caterer. She was born Anna Matilda Barker in Louisiana. On her 1877 marriage application, she listed her parents as Jacob Barker and P. [Polly?] Shelton. Jacob Barker was a white-American planter, merchant, and politician. Barker, a native […]

Moses Rodgers, Mining Engineer born

*Moses Rodgers was born on this date in 1845. He was a Black miner and mining engineer pioneer of California.

James Napier, Businessman born

*James C. Napier was born on this date in 1845. He was an Black businessman and politician.

The ‘Anti-Slavery Bugle’ Newspaper is published

 *On this date in 1845, The Anti-Slavery Bugle started publication.  This abolitionist newspaper was first published in New Lisbon (later renamed Lisbon), Ohio, and moved shortly after five issues to Salem, Ohio. Salem was home to many Quaker families and an active station of the Underground Railroad, providing the paper with more subscribers. James Barnaby was the publisher and received support from the Anti-Slavery Society, such as Abby […]

Julian Carr, Segregationist, and industrialist born

*Julian Carr was born on this date in 1845. He was a white industrialist, pro-slavery advocate, philanthropist, segregationist, and Ku Klux Klan supporter. Julian Shakespeare Carr was the son of Chapel Hill merchant and slaveowner John Wesley Carr and Eliza P. Carr (née Eliza Pannell Bullock). He entered the University of North Carolina (today, the University of […]

James D. Bowser, Journalist born

*James Bowser was born on this date in 1846.  He was a Black journalist and educator.   James Dallas Bowser was born free in Weldon, North Carolina, to free people of color. When he was six, the family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio.  Henry Bowser’s father became one of the first Black teachers there. In the mid-1860s, […]

Theo Allain, Businessman, and Politician born

On this date we remember the birth of Theophile Allain in 1846. He was a Black farmer, merchant and politician.

A Black Man Patents The Sugar Evaporator

On this date in 1846, Norbert Rillieux, a Black inventor and engineer, patented his revolutionary improvement in the cultivation and processing of sugar.

Rillieux was born into an aristocratic Creole family in New Orleans. He was the son of Vincent Rillieux, a white plantation owner, engineer and inventor, and his placée, Constance Vivant, a Free Person of Color. As a Creole, Norbert had access to education and privileges not available to lower-status blacks or slaves.

William Pettiford, Minister, and Businessman born

*William Pettiford was born on this date in 1847. He was a black minister, educator and business entrepreneur.

Isaiah Montgomery, Political Activist born

*Isaiah Montgomery was born on this date in 1847. He was a Black politician, administrator, and civil rights activist.  Born into slavery, he was the son of Ben Montgomery, a slave whose owner, Joseph Davis, promoted him to overseer. The younger Montgomery learned to read and write due to his father’s influential position on the Davis Bend plantation. Davis wanted to […]