People, Locations, Episodes

Joan Murrell Owens, Marine Biologist born

*Joan Murrell Owens was born on this date in 1933.  She was a Black educator and marine biologist.   Joan Murrell was born to William and Leola Murrell in Miami, Florida.  She was the youngest of their three daughters.  Her father was a dentist. Encouraged by her parents, Joan became interested in the life of […]

Joycelyn Elders, Physician, and Administrator born

*Joycelyn Elders was born on this date in 1933. She is an African American physician, chemist, administrator, former U. S. surgeon general and educator.

Louis Sullivan, Physician, and Educator born

*Louis Sullivan was born on this date in 1933. He is a Black health policy leader, minority health advocate, author, physician, and educator.  Louis Wade Sullivan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, although his parents moved to rural Blakely, Georgia, shortly after his birth. His father was a mortician, and his mother was a teacher. His parents sent him and his brother Walter to live […]

Etta Z. Falconer, Math Educator born

*The birth of Etta Falconer in 1933 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American mathematician and educator.

Alvin Poussaint, Psychiatrist born

Alvin Francis Poussaint was born on this date in 1934. He is an African American psychiatrist, educator, and scientist who made several studies of psychological and social issues related to African Americans.

William S. Hall, Psychologist born

*William S. Hall was born on this date in 1934. He was a Black psychologist, author, and educator. William Sterling Hall was born in Scott, Arkansas (Lonoke County) to Joseph William Hall and Mattie (Brock) Hall. In 1951, he graduated from Scipio A. Jones High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Hall earned a bachelor’s […]

Henry T. Sampson Jr., Satellite Engineer born

*This date marks the birth of Henry Sampson Jr. in 1934. He was a Black engineer, inventor (closely associated with the cell phone), author, and film historian.   Henry Thomas Sampson, Jr. was from Jackson, Mississippi; he graduated from Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi in 1951. He attended Morehouse College before transferring to Purdue University, where he became an […]

Frances Cress Welsing, Psychiatrist born

*Frances Cress Welsing was born on this date in 1935. She was a Black psychiatrist. Frances Luella Cress Welsing was born Frances Luella Cress in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Henry N. Cress, was a physician, and her mother, Ida Mae Griffen, was a teacher. In 1957, she earned a B.S. degree at Antioch College, and […]

The Mississippi Health Project Begins

*The Mississippi Health Project is celebrated on this date in 1935. This healthcare project was an initiative sponsored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority during the Great Depression. The purpose of the Mississippi Health Project was to raise health awareness among Mississippi Delta residents who did not have access to health care. The initiative lasted for six […]

Gloria Hewitt, Mathematician born

*Gloria Hewitt, born Gloria Conyers, was born on this date in 1935. She is a Black mathematician from Sumter, South Carolina.  After graduating from Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina, she entered Fisk University in 1952.  On May 28, 1954, at 18, Conyers married Ronald Hewitt.  Soon thereafter, she went on to have a son.  […]

William Jackson, Chemist, and Professor born

*William M. Jackson was born on this date in 1936.  He is a Black Research Chemist in astrochemistry and an Emeritus Professor.   William Morgan Jackson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up in Dynamite Hill, an area of the city that the Ku Klux Klan frequently bombed during the 20th-century American Civil Rights movement. His […]

The Homer G. Phillips Hospital Opens

*Homer G. Phillips Hospital is celebrated on this date in 1937. It was the first and only hospital for Blacks in St. Louis, Missouri.  Located at 2601 N. Whittier Street in The Ville neighborhood, it was the first teaching hospital west of the Mississippi River to serve Blacks. Between 1910 and 1920, the Black population […]

Haile Debas, Surgeon born

*The birth of Haile T. Debas on this date in 1937 is marked on this date. He is an African surgeon and educator.

Patricia Banks, Flight Attendant born.

*Patricia Banks was born on this date in 1937. She is a retired Black flight attendant, administrator, and counselor. Patricia Noisette Banks was born to parents Sadie and Joseph Banks in New York City. She graduated from Aquinas High School in 1955. Banks Edmiston attended Queens College for a year to study psychology. While attending, […]

Edith Hambie, Scientist, and Educator born

*Edith A. Hambie was born on this date in1937. She was an African American scientist, research microbiologist, educator, and activist.

From Decatur, GA., Edith Amos Hambie received her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University in 1974 and her Master’s degree in Microbiology in 1979 from Atlanta University.