People, Locations, Episodes

Charles Crutchfield Sr., Obstetrician and Gynecologist born

*Charles Crutchfield was born on this date in 1939.  He is a retired Black Obstetrician and Gynecologist.  Charles Edward Crutchfield, born in Jasper, Alabama, is one of six children of Charles and Cessie Crutchfield. His siblings are Doris Jean, Albert, Dessie Lee, Napoleon, and Josephine. He attended Walker County Technical High School. In 1955, young […]

George Carruthers, Astrophysicist born

George R. Carruthers, an African American astrophysicist, was born on this date in 1939.

Carruthers grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois, where he received a B.Sc. (1961) in aeronautical engineering, an M.Sc. (1962) in nuclear engineering and a Ph.D. (1964) in aeronautical and astronomical engineering. After graduation, Dr. Carruthers joined the rocket astronomy group at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington where his work focused on ultraviolet observations of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and of astronomical phenomena.

William E. Cross, Psychologist born

*William Cross’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1940. He is a Black educator, theorist, and psychology researcher in ethnic identity development, specifically Black identity development. William E. Cross Jr. was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Bill and Margaret Cross. He was the fourth child and first son; his father was a […]

Hamilton Holmes, Physician born

*Hamilton Holmes was born on this date in 1941. He was a Black orthopedic physician.   Hamilton E. Holmes was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Alfred, was a businessman, and his mother, Isabella, was a teacher. His grandfather, Hamilton Mayo Holmes, was a physician and a significant influence on Hamilton. His grandfather and uncle, Alfred Holmes, helped to […]

Charlene Drew Jarvis, Educator and Politician born.

*Charlene Drew Jarvis was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black educator, a scientific researcher, and a politician. From Washington, D.C., Charlene Rosella Drew) She is the daughter of Charles Drew and the sister of Sylvia Drew Ivie. Jarvis earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College in 1962, a Master […]

Winonah Beamer Myers, Activist and Health Practitioner born

*Winonah Beamer Myers was born on this date in 1941. She was a white-American civil rights activist and Mental health practitioner.   Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Margaret Winonah Beamer attended Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and joined the Freedom Riders in the summer of 1961.   Beamer joined four other activists on a train from Nashville, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, where […]

Terrence Roberts, Sociologist born

*Terrence Roberts was born on this date in 1941. He is an African American Psychologist, sociologist, author and activist.

Gloria Cecelia Ray Karlmark, Chemist, Educator, and Activist born

*Gloria Cecelia Ray Karlmark was born on this date in 1942. She is a Black chemist, educator, and member of the Little Rock Nine. Born in Little Rock, she was one of the three children of Harvey C. and Julia Miller Ray; she was 15 when she attempted to enter Little Rock Central High School, where […]

Patricia Era Bath, Ophthalmologist born

*Patricia Era Bath was born on this date in 1942. She is an African American ophthalmologist, inventor and academic.

Bath is the daughter of Rupert and Gladys Bath. From in Harlem, NYC, as a child her parents encouraged her academically. Her father, an immigrant from Trinidad, was a newspaper columnist for the Amsterdam News, a merchant seaman and the first black man to work for the New York City Subway as a motorman. Her mother was an American citizen, whose direct descendants were African slaves and Cherokee Indians.

Sylvia Drew Ivie, Public Health Advocate born

*Sylvia Drew Ivie was born on this date in 1944. She is a Black Mental Health Advocate, Lawyer, and activist.  She is from Washington, DC, and is the youngest daughter of Dr. Charles Richard Drew and Minnie Lenora Robbins Drew. She has two sisters and a younger brother. She graduated from Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie, […]

Francis Collins, Physician-Geneticist born

*Dr. Francis Collins of N.I.H. was born on this date in 1950.  He is a white-American physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with several diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He is the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Before being appointed director of the NIH, Collins led the Human Genome Project and […]

Alexa Canady, Neurosurgeon born

On this date in 1950 Alexa Canady was born. She is an African American Neurosurgeon.

Canady was the first Woman and first African American to become a Neurosurgeon in America. From Lansing Michigan, Alexa Irene Canady is the daughter of Elizabeth Hortense (Golden) Canady and Clinton Canady Jr. Her father was a graduate of the School of Dentistry of Meharry Medical College, practicing in Lansing. Her mother was a graduate of Fiasco University was active for years in civic affairs of Lansing. She also served as national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

A Black Woman Patents Knockdown Toys

On this date in 1950, Lydia M. Holmes, an African American patented plans for several easily assembled wooden pull toys including a bird, a truck, and dog.

She was born in St. Augustine, FL. Her Knockdown Wheeled Toys Patent Number was 2,529,692.

A Black Woman Patents a Device for Feeding the Disabled

*On this date in 1951, a Black woman received a patent for a feeding device for the disabled. Bessie Blount invented the machine that delivered food through a tube, one bite at a time, to a mouthpiece whether the patient was sitting up or lying down. When the person wanted more food, they bit down […]

Ben Carson, Surgeon, and Administrator born

*Dr. Benjamin Carson was born on this date in 1951. He is a retired African American neurosurgeon.