People, Locations, Episodes

Johnnie Carr, Nurse, and Activist born

*Johnnie Carr was born on this date in 1911. She was a Black Activist and nurse. From Alabama, Johnnie Rebecca Daniels was the daughter of parents John and Annie Richmond Daniels, the youngest of six children. When she was nine, her father died; following his death, the family moved away from their farm to the […]

Frances Rains, Nurse, and Businesswoman born

*On this date in 1911, Frances Mary McHie Rains was born. She was an African American nurse, community worker, educator and businesswoman.

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a young girl Frances McHie wanted to become a social worker mainly due to her exposure to a local activist and businesswoman W. Gertrude Brown. After high school she attempted to enroll at the University of Minnesota’s school of Nursing. After being turned down because she was Black, Minnesota senator Sylvanus A. “S.A.” Stockwell and Mrs. Brown brought the issues and young Frances before the state legislature.

The Crownsville Hospital Center of Maryland opens.

*The Crownsville Hospital Center opened on this date in 1911. This was a psychiatric hospital for Blacks located in Crownsville, Maryland. The first group of 12 patients arrived and lived in a work camp in a willow curing house adjacent to one of the willow ponds. Staff worked with them to prepare roads and to […]

Edward Mazique, Physician born

*This date in 1911 marks the birth of Edward Mazique. He was a Black doctor and pioneer in the medical community of Washington, D.C.  Edward Craig Mazique was a native of Natchez, Miss. He graduated from Natchez College before leaving Mississippi to pursue an undergraduate degree and graduated from Morehouse College in Georgia, later serving […]

Lilian Ngoyi, South African Nurse and Activist born

*Lilian Ngoyi was born on this date in 1911. She was a Black machinist, nurse, and South African activist. Lilian Masediba Matabane was born in Pretoria, South Africa. She was the only daughter of Annie and Isaac Matabane and a sister to three brothers, Lawrence, George, and Percy. Her grandfather, on her mother’s side, was a […]

Reginald Weir, Doctor, and Tennis Pioneer born

*Reginald Weir was born on this date in 1911. was a Black tennis player and physician. Reginald Storum Weir was born in Washington, D.C. Weir was a medical school graduate of New York University and practiced family medicine from 1935 to 1985. Weir was captain of the City College of New York, men’s tennis team. […]

Horace Rains, Medical Doctor born

On this date in 1912, Horace Rain, an African American doctor and community activist, was born.

He was was one of three sons born in Atlanta to Igolias and Elizabeth Rains. The family moved to Columbus, OH, when Horace was a baby. He completed his education in public schools in Columbus, and attended Wilberforce University on a track scholarship. He received his B.S. degree in 1938, then taught physical education at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO., before being drafted into the Army in 1941.

Moddie Taylor, Manhattan Project Chemist born

*Moddie Taylor was born on this date in 1912. He was an African American chemist.

James Lu Valle, Chemist born

*James Lu Valle was born on this date in 1912. He was an African American Chemist.

From in San Antonio, Texas, he received a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA in 1936. During that time he ran track for UCLA and won a Bronze medal in 400 meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1937, Lu Valle earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in 1940 from California Institute of technology.

Edwin Russell, Chemist born

Edwin R. Russell was born on this date in 1913.  He was a Black chemist and professor.  Edwin Roberts Russell was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He earned a B.A. from Benedict College in 1935 and an M.A. in Chemistry from Howard University in 1937. From 1936-1942, Russell served as a chemistry assistant and instructor […]

Muriel Petioni, Doctor, and Educator born

Dr. Muriel Marjorie Petioni was born on this date in 1914. She is an African American doctor, activist, and community server.

She was born in Trinidad, Port of Spain, the daughter of Rose Alling, a department store clerk, and Charles Augustin Petioni, a newspaper reporter. Her family migrated to New York City when Muriel was five years old. Her father became a prominent Harlem physician, activist, and nationalist for Caribbean independence.

Dorothy L. Brown, Surgeon and Politician born

On this date, Dorothy Lavinia Brown was born in 1919. She was an African American doctor, legislator, and the first Black female surgeon in the South.

Henry McBay, Scientist, and Educator born

On this date in 1914, Henry McBay was born. He was an African American scientist and educator.

Henry Ransom Cecil McBay was from Mexia, TX. He received a Bachelor of Science from Wiley College in 1934, a Master of Science from Atlanta University in 1936, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1945. He was an instructor of chemistry at Wiley College from 1936 to 1938, then an instructor at Western University, Kansas City. In 1944 and 1945, he won the Elizabeth Norton prize at the University of Chicago for outstanding research in chemistry.

Carlton Goodlett, Physician, and Publisher born

*Carlton Goodlett was born on this date in 1914.  He was a Black physician, newspaper publisher, and political activist.    Carlton Benjamin Goodlett was born in Chipley, Florida, to Fannie T. Russ and Arthur Goodlett and later migrated to Omaha, Nebraska. He was the youngest of two children. His sister’s name is unknown, but when she was five and Carlton […]

Herman Branson, Sickle Cell Physicist born

*Herman Branson was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American Physicist. Physics is the science of nature in the broadest sense. Physicists study the behavior and properties of matter in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from the sub-nuclear particles from which all ordinary matter is made (particle physics) to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole (cosmology).