People, Locations, Episodes

Flora Batson, Concert Singer born

On this date in 1864, Flora Batson was born. She was an African American concert singer.

From Washington D.C., Batson’s youth was primarily spent in Providence, Rhode Island where she made her first public appearances. Batson sang in churches and a variety of programs promoting women’s temperance. She reached a summit with her career in 1885 with the Bergen Star Company as their lead singer. In 1896, another phase of her singing took place with Black bassist Gerard Miller. The two performed together as a feature duet with the South Before the War Company.

Will Cook, Composer, and Arranger born

*On this date, Will Cook was born in 1869. He was an African American composer and arranger.

Born in Washington D.C., Will Marion Cook was the son of John Cook, the treasurer of Howard University. In 1882, he went to Oberlin College to study violin, returning three years later to give his first recitals. After studying in Berlin with the great Joseph Joachim, Cook returned to America and within five years was performing at Carnegie Hall.

Harriett Gibbs-Marshall, Pianist, and Educator born

*Harriett Gibbs Marshall was born on this date in 1869. She was an African American concert pianist, author, and educator.

Sissieretta Jones, Opera Singer born

*The birth of Sissieretta Jones is remembered on this date in 1869. She was an African American concert and spiritual singer.

Tom Lemonier, Actor, and Composer, born

*Tom Lemonier was born on this date in 1870. He was a Black actor and composer. Little is known about his childhood. He contributed to popular music during the ragtime era, mainly active in Black Vaudeville. His work has been featured in various musicals. The Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company published some of his work. Numerous recordings […]

Estelle Ricketts, Composer born

*This date in 1871 celebrates the birth of Estelle Ricketts, a Black composer who lived in Darby, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She lived with her mother, her younger brother, and her father, who operated a boarding stable. She was the only one in her family who could read and write.           Career            Estelle Ricketts’s […]

Isaac Hathaway, Sculptor, and Teacher born

*The birth of Isaac Hathaway in 1872 is marked on this date. He was an African- merican Sculptor, Ceramicist, Illustrator, and Teacher.

John W. Cooper, Ventriloquist born

*John W. Cooper was born on this date in 1873.  He was a Black ventriloquist and singer.   From Brooklyn, New York, he lost both of his parents very young.  Cooper received his education at Professor Dorsey’s Institute in Brooklyn.  While at Dorsey, he developed into a promising entertainer and took a special interest in ventriloquism, […]

William A. Harper, Artist born

William A. Harper was born on this date in 1873. He was an African American artist.

He was born in Canada, studied in Paris, and was considered one of the most gifted Black artists at the turn of the 20th century. At age 8, Harper and his family moved to Illinois and settled on a farm where he developed his love for nature and art. He attended a small college in Jacksonville, Illinois, and later went to Chicago and enrolled at the Chicago Institute School of the Art, where in 1900, he graduated with honors.

Ned Waybrun, Choreographer born

*Ned Wayburn was born on this date in 1874. He was a Black choreographer. Edward Claudius Weyburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Chauncey Weyburn was his paternal grandfather. Ned Wayburn spent much of his childhood in Chicago, where he was introduced to theater and studied classical piano. […]

Maynard Dixon, Artist born

*Maynard Dixon, a white American artist whose work focused on the American West, was born on this date in 1875. He was born Lafayette Maynard Dixon in Fresno, California, after his maternal grandfather. His family of aristocratic Virginia Confederates had found a new home in California after the American Civil War. His mother, Constance Maynard, a […]

Black History in American Vaudeville, a story

*Black Vaudeville history is celebrated on this date in 1875. This was a Black performance community that emerged from the movement and style of the American stage.   The vaudeville years began as the Reconstruction Era ended, from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. These Black acts were unique because the performers brought in […]

Florence B. Price, Pianist, and Composer born

On this date in 1877, Florence Smith Price was born. She was an African American composer, concert pianist, and organist.

Will Mastin, Dancer and Singer born.

*Will Mastin was born on this date in 1878. He was a Black dancer and singer. According to the 1880 Federal Census of Enumeration and the California Death Index, Mastin was born in Madison, Alabama, to a single mother named Sally Mastin. As a vaudeville and television act, Mastin led the Will Mastin Trio. The […]

Aida Overton Walker, Entertainer born

*On this date we recall Aida Overton Walker, born in 1880. She was a singer, dancer, actress, and choreographer, regarded as the leading African American female performing artist at the turn of the century.