*On this date in 1889, Claude Barnett was born. He was an African American journalist and entrepreneur.
learn more*On this date, in 1889, the Harlem Opera House opened. It was an American opera house in the Harlem community of Manhattan in New York City. It was built in 1875 and designed by architect John B. McElfatrick by Oscar Hammerstein; it was his first theater in New York City. An early work at the […]
learn moreOn this date in 1890, William B. Purvis was awarded a patent for a fountain pen.
Purvis was from Philadelphia and obtained his first patent on a paper bag device on April 25th 1882. Of the sixteen patents Purvis received most were sold to the Union Paper Bag Company of New York.
learn more*Abraham Taylor was born on this date in 1890. He was a Black businessman and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. co-founder. Abraham Langston Taylor was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon completing his education at Howe Institute, Howard University, and Frelinghuysen University, Taylor operated as the first International President of Phi Beta Sigma. He was distinguished, poised, […]
learn more*On this date in 1890, a Black man received a Steam Valve patent. Machinist and union activist Frank J. Ferrell was the inventor; his patent number was 420 993.
learn more*For this date, the Registry celebrates the founding of the Black town of Langston Oklahoma, in 1890.
This municipality is of national historical significance because it is representative of the many towns established by Blacks who migrated from the south to northern and western communities after slavery. One of a group of Black Towns in America, it was established by African Americans Edwin and Sarah McCabe. In their beginning, with a population of 600, they envisioned an all-Black city in Oklahoma Territory.
learn more*On this date in 1890, a Black man received a Steam Trap patent. Machinist and union activist Frank J. Ferrell was the inventor; his patent number was 428,671.
learn more*The Red Cap Porter profession is marked on this date in 1890. This is a profession associated with post-Reconstruction African American heritage. It was a practice of railroad station porters to wear red-colored caps to distinguish them from blue-capped train personnel with other duties. The first Red Cap was worn by a Black porter on Labor Day 1890 […]
learn more*This date in 1890 celebrates the founding of Alabama Penny Savings Bank. It was Alabama’s first bank for Blacks one of the first three for Blacks in America.
learn more*On this date in 1890, a Black inventor patented his Portable Fire Escape. Charles Daniel McCree’s invention’s patent number is #440,322.
learn more*James B. Morris Sr. was born on this date in 1890. He was a Black lawyer and newspaper businessman. From Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of twelve, he began working in a little print shop in Covington, a suburb of Atlanta,”‘ “After completing his grammar school in Atlanta, Morris moved to Baltimore, where he attended […]
learn moreOn this date in 1890 John P. Parker, African American businessman, and abolitionist patented the Soil Pulverizer.
This agricultural invention was a great asset to expediting farm harvesting.
learn more*Zema W. Hill was born on this date in 1891. He was a Black evangelist and businessman. He was from Franklin County, near Winchester, Tennessee. Hill joined the Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church and became a teenage evangelist at an early age. In 1916, he moved to Nashville, preaching and evangelizing in Hightower Hall. He was […]
learn more*On this date in 1891, a Black man received a Valve patent. Machinist Frank J. Ferrell was the inventor; his patent number was 450,451.
learn more*On this date in 1891, inventor George Toliver was awarded a patent for ship vessel’s propeller.
This African American inventor’s patent number is #451,086.
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