People, Locations, Episodes

Dr. Charles Watts, Physician born

*Dr Charles Watts was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American physician, surgeon, and activist for the poor.

The Municipal Training School for Colored Nurses Begins

*On this date in 1917, we celebrate the first class of the Municipal Training School for Colored Nurses (MTSCN). Mrs. Ludie Andrews founded MCSTN, which became part of the Grady Memorial Hospital School of Nursing program. This was an accredited nursing school for black students. Municipal School students took courses at Spelman College and completed clinical work at Hughes […]

Mattiedna Johnson, Nurse, and Laboratory Technician born

*Mattiedna Johnson was born on this date in 1918. She was a Black nurse and laboratory technician. Mattiedna Johnson was born to sharecroppers in Mississippi. She weighed three and a half pounds at birth and was the fifth child born in her family. With concern about his daughter’s low birth weight, Johnson’s father pleaded to God to […]

Lloyd Quarterman, Chemist born

*Lloyd Quarterman was born on this date in 1918.  He was a Black chemist and scientist. Born in Philadelphia, Lloyd Albert Quarterman developed an interest in chemistry from a young age partly by using toy chemistry sets his parents gave him.  He attended St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he developed a reputation […]

Kathrine G. Johnson, NASA Scientist born

Katherine G. Johnson was born on this date in 1918. She is an African American physicist, space scientist, and mathematician.

She was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and was trained as a mathematician and physicist in West Virginia.

Harold Amos, Scientist, and Teacher born

*Harold Amos was born on this date in 1918. He was an African American microbiologist and professor.

Charles H. Wright, Physician and Philanthropist, born.

*Charles H. Wright was born on this date in 1918. He was a Black physician, author, and philanthropist. Charles Howard Wright was born in Dothan, Alabama. He graduated from Southeast High School in 1935. He attended Alabama State College (now Alabama State University), graduating in 1939, and entered Meharry Medical College, graduating in 1943. Wright served two […]

Herman Cooke, Entomologist born

*Herman Cooke was born on this date in 1918.  He was a Black Entomologist and Zoologist.  Herman Glen Cooke was from Petersburg, Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Science from Virginia State College in 1936 and a Master of Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939.  Cooke earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from the […]

Samuel Massie, Chemist, and Teacher born

Samuel Massie, a brilliant African American chemist and teacher, was born on this date in 1919.

Charles Anderson, Meteorologist born

*Charles Edward Anderson was born on this date in 1919. He was an African American scientist specializing in meteorology.

John L.S. Holloman Jr., Doctor, and Activist born

*John L.S. Sullivan was born on this date in 1919. He was an African American Physician and activist.

Jane Cooke Wright, Cancer Researcher born

*On this date 1919, Jane Cooke Wright was born. She was an African American doctor and cancer researcher.

Phyllis Mae Dailey, Nurse and Officer born

*This date in 1920 is celebrated as the birth date of Phyllis Mae Dailey, a Black nurse and naval officer. She graduated from the Lincoln School of Nursing in New York City and is a public health student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dailey initially wanted to enter the U.S. Army, but her race denied […]

The Black Cross Nurses Association is Formed

*On National Nurse Day, May 6, this date in 1920, affirms the Black Cross Nurses Association.  The organization was the women’s auxiliary of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League.   Officially the Universal African Black Cross Nurses, an international organization of nurses, was founded based upon the model of the Red Cross. They were established to provide health […]

Blanche Lawrence, Chemist born

*Blanche Lawrence was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black research chemist. Lawrence received her bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University. Lawrence worked as a research assistant in the Chicago Met Lab’s health division during the Manhattan Project. She was the widow of Tuskegee Airman Capt—Erwin Lawrence of the 99th Pursuit Squadron. After […]