*The opening of Hartshorn Memorial College opened on this date in 1883. One of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in America, this school started classes in Richmond, Virginia, until 1932, when it merged into Virginia Union University. Hartshorn Memorial College was created as a college for African American women’s education. The college’s namesake, Joseph C. Hartshorn, donated the school […]
learn more*Edwin Henderson was born on this date in 1883. He was a Black educator, coach, and pioneer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Edwin Bancroft Henderson was born in southwest Washington, D.C. His father, William Henderson, was a day laborer, and his mother, Louisa, taught him to read at an early age. He […]
learn moreOn this date, Arthur Wergs Mitchell was born in 1883. He was an African American teacher, administrator, and politician. He was the first Black representative elected as a Democrat in the United States.
learn more*Elder Diggs was born on this date in 1883. He was a Black writer, soldier, and scholar. Elder Watson Diggs was born in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, and is the eldest son of three children. His mother, Cornelia, raised Diggs and his brother (William Ellis) and sister (Effie). He received a one-room school education in […]
learn more*This date in 1883 is celebrated as the birth date of Cecelia Cabaniss-Saunders, a Black educator and administrator. From Charleston, South Carolina, Cecelia Hayne Holloway’s father, James H. Holloway, was a school principal during American Reconstruction. Cecelia Holloway graduated from Fisk University in 1909. She then attended Tuskegee Institute, receiving her Master of Social Science. Cecelia continued her studies […]
learn more*Nathanial Allison Murray was born on this date in 1884. He was a Black teacher and librarian. From Washington, D.C., his parents were educators Daniel Alexander Payne Murray and Anna Jane Evans Murray. His father, Daniel, was one of the first African American librarians for the Library of Congress and was considered a leading authority on the […]
learn more*The founding of Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is celebrated on this date in 1884. Arkansas Baptist College is a private, historically Black liberal arts college (HBCU) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded as the Minister’s Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is the only historically Black Baptist […]
learn more*Mary Edwards Hunter was born on this date in 1885. She was a Black teacher, extension agent, and advocate for women and children. Mary Evelyn Virginia Edwards was born in Fitchburg, Alabama, the fifteenth of seventeen children of Elijah E. and Frances (Moore) Edwards. While still a girl, she became the bookkeeper for her father’s […]
learn more*Charles Brown was born on this date in 1885. He was a Black teacher and one of the founders of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Charles Ignatius Brown was born in Pittsburgh, PA. Census records show that his father was Rev. John M. Brown, and his mother was Maggie M. Brown. His father also lived […]
learn more*On this date, in 1885, Mamie E. Scurlock was born. She was a Black educator and business manager. Born Mamie Estelle Fearing was from Washington, D.C. Before managing her husband’s photographic studio, she taught elementary education in the D.C. District and Baltimore schools. She married Addison N. Scurlock in 1925, beginning a 52-year association with Washington’s preeminent Black photo studio. The […]
learn more*On this date in 1885, Morris Brown College in Atlanta was founded. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.
learn more*Mary Loraine Europe’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1885. She was a Black pianist, organist, and music educator. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Mary Loraine Europe was a daughter of Henry J. Europe and Loraine (Saxon) Europe. Her father was a native of Alabama and a devoted Baptist Church of Mobile member. Her mother […]
learn more*The birth of Clara Belle Williams in 1885 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American educator.
learn more*Florence Read was born on this date in 1885. She was a white-American college president. From Delevan, New York, Florence Matilda Read was the daughter of William Ervin Read and Cornelia Minerva Waldo; she had a brother, Harry. Read received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1909 and served as alumnae secretary. In 1911, […]
learn more*This date in 1885 celebrates the opening of the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB), a state-supported boarding school for deaf and blind children established in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1882, Thomas Hines Coleman, a young deaf man, was preparing to graduate from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the only college […]
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