People, Locations, Episodes

David Bowser, Portrait Artist born

*David Bowser was born on this date in 1820.   He was a Black ornamental artist and portraitist.   Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, David Bustill Bowser was a grandson of Cyrus Bustill, a former slave who purchased his freedom and went on to become a founding member of Philadelphia’s Free African Society, and a son of oyster house proprietor Jeremiah Bowser, whose freedom […]

The African Grove Theater Opens

*The origin of the African Grove Theater in 1821 is celebrated on this date.

Based in Manhattan, in its seven years of existence the venue played host to Black productions of ballets, plays, and ballad operas that were enhanced by musical performances. These included Shakespeare and original plays (including The Drama of King Shotoway, which called for a slave rebellion) in 1823.

Robert Duncanson, Artist born

The birth of Robert S. Duncanson in 1821 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black artist.

Alexandre Dumas Fils, Playwright born.

*Alexandre Dumas fils was born on this date in 1824. He was a Black French author and playwright. Dumas fils was born in Paris, France, the illegitimate quarteron child of Marie-Laure-Catherine Labay, a dressmaker, and novelist Alexandre Dumas. In 1831, his father legally recognized him and ensured that the young Dumas received the best education possible at the Goubaux Institution and […]

Master Juba, Minstrel Performer born

*The birth of Master Juba is celebrated on this date in 1825.  He was a Black stage entertainer specializing in dance and one of America’s first publicly recognized black performers.  Born William Henry Lane in Providence, RI, he began his career in the saloons and dance halls of the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan in […]

Edward Bannister, Artist born

This date celebrates the birth of Edward Bannister, a Black artist born in 1826.

Edward Mitchell Bannister was the first of two sons born to Edward and Hannah Alexander Bannister in St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. He moved to New England in the late 1840s, where he remained for the rest of his life.

George L. White, Missionary, and Choral Conductor born

*George L. White was born on this date in 1838. He was a white-American soldier, missionary, and choral administrator. Born in Cadiz, New York, George Leonard White was the son of a blacksmith who played in a local band. He attended public school until age fourteen and moved to Ohio when he was twenty. Although […]

Mary E. Webb, Orator, and Actress born

*Mary E. Webb’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1828. She was a Black actress and orator known for her dramatic poetry and literature readings. Mary Espartero Webb was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, three weeks after her mother escaped slavery in Virginia. Her father, described as “a Spanish gentleman of wealth, had made […]

Frederic Bartholdi, Artist, and Sculptor born

*Frederic Bartholdi was born on this date in 1834.  He was a white-French artist and sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty for France as a gift to the United States of America. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar, France, to a family of Italian and German Protestant heritage.  Bartholdi was the youngest of […]

Adah Menkens, Actress, and Poet born

On this date, we recall the birth of Adah Menkens in 1835. She was a Black actress and poet of international renown in the mid-19th century.

José White Lafitte, Classical Musician born

*José Silvestre White Lafitte was born on this date in 1836.  Also known as Joseph White, he was an Afro Cuban, French violinist and composer.   Born in Matanzas, Cuba, his father, Don Carlos White, was Spanish, and his mother was Afro Cuban.  After receiving early musical training from his father, an amateur violinist, White gave […]

Antonio C. Gomes, Composer born

Antonio Carlos Gomes was born on this date in 1836. He was an African Brazilian composer, one of the most distinguished 19th century operatic composers in the world.

Harriet Powers, ‘Story Quilt’ Artist born

Harriet Powers was born on this date in 1837. She was a Black artist who worked in textile needlework.

The Ethiopian Serenaders Are Formed

*The Ethiopian Serenaders are noted on this date in 1840.  From Boston, they were a white-American blackface minstrel troupe successful in the 1840s and 1850s. Through various line-ups, they were managed and directed by James A. Dumbolton and are sometimes mentioned as the Boston Minstrels, Dumbolton Company, or Dumbolton’s Serenaders.  The group was formed in […]

Grafton T. Brown, Artist of Western Beauty born

*On this date in 1841, Grafton Tyler Brown was born. He was an African American lithographer and painter.

Born of free ancestry in Pennsylvania, Brown followed the lure of the West to California in the mid-1850s, taking part in the expansion that would change the face of the nation. He was able to find work as a lithographer in San Francisco and in time formed his own business in 1866. Brown is considered the first Black professional artist in California.