People, Locations, Episodes

The Carbon Manufacturer Unit is Patented by a Black Man

*On this date in 1882, a Black man received a patent for a process to manufacture carbons.   Lewis Latimer received credit for this work.  The Patent number is #252,386.

Joe Jordan, Composer, and Publisher born

*Joe Jordan was born on this date in 1882. He was a Black pianist, composer, real estate investor, and music publisher. Joseph Taylor Jordan was from Cincinnati, Ohio, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and received musical training at the Lincoln Institute (now Lincoln University) in Jefferson City, Missouri. 1900, as a young man, he […]

Globe Support for Electric Lamp is Patented by a Black Man

*On this date in 1882, a Black man co-patented a globe supporter for electric lamps.   Lewis Latimer and J. Tregoning received credit for their work.  The patent number is #255,212.

A Black Man Patents A Bag Fastener

On this date in 1882, Black inventor, William B. Purvis was issued a patent for a “Bag Fastener” # 256,856. In later years, he also patented a hand stamp, a fountain pen, an electric railway, a magnetic car balancing device, an electric railway switch, and ten paper bag machines.

Robert Henry Lee, Businessman born

Robert Henry Lee was born on this date in 1882. He was an African American businessman.

Born in Howard County, MO, of a 16-year old Black girl named Eliza Lee, and her master, plantation owner John Lee, Robert spent most of his childhood living Tipton, MO. He and his mother regularly visited her parents, Armstead and Ellen Lee who lived in nearby Willowfork, MO. The small towns of his youth were places where Black cowboys flourished and were strategically located on the main stage coach line. Young Lee learned farm life and cattle and horse ranching.

The Washington Bee Newspaper is Published

*The Washington Bee was founded on this date in 1882. It was a Washington, D.C.-based American weekly newspaper primarily catering to and read by Blacks. Throughout almost all of its 40 years in publication, it was edited by Black lawyer-journalist William Calvin Chase. The Bee’s publication history coincided with a two-generation period of American history during […]

Arthur P. Bedou, Photographer born

*Arthur P. Bedou was born on this date in 1882.  He was a Black photographer based in New Orleans.   Arthur Paul Bedou was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the fifth child of Armand Bedou and Marie Celeste Coustaut. His family was poor, and he received very little education; as a photographer, he was largely self-taught. Bedou […]

Edwin Smalls, Entertainment Businessman born.

*Edwin Smalls was born on this date in 1882. He was a Black businessman. Edwin Alexander Smalls was from Charleston, SC, and joined the Great Migration north and came to New York with the waves of people who flowed into the city from Europe and the South. He settled in Manhattan but moved uptown as Harlem was […]

The Berry Hotel (Ohio) Opens

*The Berry Hotel in Athens, Ohio, is celebrated on this date in 1882. The Berry Hotel was established by African American entrepreneur Edward C. Berry and his wife Mattie. The Berry Hotel began as an ice cream shop and later a restaurant the couple operated on a lot bought in 1880 for $1,300. In 1893, they expanded […]

Laurence C. Jones, Administrator born

*Laurence Jones was born on this date in 1882. He was a Black educator, administrator, and activist. His father worked as a porter at the Pacific House Hotel in St. Joseph, Missouri. Laurence Clifton Jones came from a family of educators with an uncle who founded the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute in Michigan in 1846.   When he was 15, […]

The Richmond Planet Newspaper is Published

*The first issue of the Richmond Planet, a Black newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, was celebrated on this date in 1882. Thirteen former Richmond slaves founded the paper. It was edited first by Edwin Archer Randolph and then by John Mitchell, Jr. from 1884 until he died in 1929. He was the paper’s junior editor in 1912. The same year, the paper […]

Augustus Dill, Editor, Manager, and Activist born.

*Augustus Dill was born on this date in 1882. He was a Black Gay business manager, musician, and activist. Augustus Granville Dill was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, to John Dill and Elizabeth Jackson. He received his B.A. from Atlanta University in 1906, a second B.A. from Harvard in 1908, and his M.A. from Harvard in […]

America’s First Shoe Lasting Machine is Patented

*On this date in 1883, a Black inventor patented the first shoe lasting machine.

Jan Matzeliger from Dutch Guiana revolutionized the shoe industry with his invention, patent #274,207.

Clarence ‘Cap’ Wigington, Architect born

On this date in 1883 the birth of “Cap” Wigington is marked. He was the first African American municipal architect.

Addison Scurlock, Photographer born

Addison Scurlock was born on this date in 1883. He was an African American photographer.

Born in Fayetteville, N.C., he graduated from high school there, and in 1900, moved with his family to Washington, D.C. His father, George Clay Scurlock, had run unsuccessfully for the North Carolina Senate. He also worked as a messenger for the U.S. Treasury Department, while studying law and he later opened a law office on the 1100 block of U Street.