People, Locations, Episodes

Shaka Zulu, African Monarch born

*Shaka Zulu was born on this date, c. 1787. Shaka Zulu was a Black South African Monarch and military innovator of the Zulu Nation.    He was born Sigidi kaSenzangakhona near present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province. Due to persecution due to his illegitimacy, he spent his childhood in his mother’s settlements, where he was initiated into an ibutho lempi (fighting unit). In his early days, […]

William Cuffay, Tailor, and Politician born

The birth of William Cuffay in 1788 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black tailor, and politician.

From Chatham, Kent in England his father was a naval cook and former slave. A young Cuffay found work as an apprentice tailor. Also as a young man he held conservative views and as late as 1833. Cuffay argued against the formation of trade unions and was the last member of his lodge to join the (then) new tailors’ union. Yet when the tailors’ union came out on strike in April 1834, Cuffay joined them and as a result lost his job.

Bernardo de Monteagudo, Politician born

*Bernardo de Monteagudo was born on this date in 1789.  He was an Afro Argentine political leader at the time of independence. Monteagudo became involved early in the independence movement and was arrested several times. In 1808, he wrote Diálogo entre Atahualpa y Fernando VII, criticizing the colonial system. Monteagudo talked about the need for independence […]

Thaddeus Stevens, Politician, and Abolitionist born

*Thaddeus Stevens was born on this date in 1792. He was a White American abolitionist. Stevens was born in Danville, Vermont.

Brom & Brett v. Ashley is Ruled

*On this date in 1792, Brom & Brett v. Ashley was decided.  This was the first legal decision against American slavery, ordering John Ashley, a white-American slave owner, to release black servants Mum Brett  (Elizabeth Freeman) and Brom (a Negro man) from bondage.   When the case was tried in August 1781 before the County Court of Common Pleas […]

Sam Houston, Politician and Slave Owner born

*Sam Houston was born on this date in 1793. He was a white-American general and statesman. Samuel Houston was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and inherited a slave plantation and mansion. He had many enslaved people throughout his life. His family migrated to Maryville, Tennessee, when Houston was a teenager. Houston later ran away from […]

James N. Glover, Abolitionist and Soldier born.

*James Nettle Glover was born on this date in 1793.  He was a Black abolitionist and soldier. Born into slavery on a plantation in Port Tobacco, Maryland, he was one of three known War of 1812 veterans buried in Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. He was the grandson of John Glover, one of four Black siblings […]

Pio Pico, Governor of Mexican California born

The birth of Pio de Jesus Pico in 1801 is marked on this date. He was an African Native Mexican American businessman and politician.

Pico was born in the San Gabriel Mission in Mexico, the son of a soldier, Jose Maria Pico. His father had come from Mexico with the Anza expedition of 1801. The fourth of ten children, Pico’s heritage was a mix of African, Native American, Hispanic, and European roots. A revolutionary in his youth, he was the last Mexican governor of Alta California (now the state of California), the region above what is now Mexico.

Wyndham Robertson, Slave Owner, and Politician born

*Wyndham Robertson was born on this date in 1803. He was a white-American politician, slave owner, and businessman. He was born near Manchester, Chesterfield County, Virginia, across the James River from Richmond. His parents were William Robertson and his wife Elizabeth Bolling, descended from Pocahontas and John Rolfe. His paternal grandfather Archibald Robertson emigrated from […]

Sir James Douglass, Statesman, and Businessman born

*Sir James Douglas was born on this date in 1803.  He was a Black Canadian Statesman.  Born in Demerara, British Guiana, he was the son of John Douglas and Miss Ritchie, a “Creole” woman from Barbados.  The couple had three children: Alexander, James, and Cecilia Eliza. John Douglas’ second family was with Jane Hamilton Douglas, and they had […]

Osceola, Seminole Leader, born

*The birth of Osceola, who was born on this date in 1804, is celebrated. He was a Native leader and interpreter of the Seminole people in Florida. Pronounced Asi-yahola in Creek), Osceola was named Billy Powell at birth in the Creek village of Talisi, which means “Old Town.” The village site, now the city of […]

Stand Watie, Native American Slave Owner born

*Stand Watie was born on this date in 1806. He was a Native American Cherokee Chief, slave owner, and military officer. From Rome, Georgia, he was also called De Gata Ga (Cherokee: “Stand Firm”).   At 12, he was sent to a mission school where he learned to speak English. He later helped an older brother […]

Peter Burnett, Slave Owner, and Politician born

*Peter Burnett was born on this date in 1807.  He was a white-American slave owner and politician who enforced discriminatory legislation against Black Native Americans and Chinese immigrants in the West. Raised in a slave-owning family in Missouri, Peter Hardeman Burnett moved westward after his business left him heavily in debt. Initially residing in Oregon […]

Jefferson Davis, Confederate President born

Jefferson Davis was born in this date in 1808. He was a White American slave owner and president of the Confederacy.

Chile Declares Independence From Spain

*On this date in 1808, Chile declared its Independence from Spain. This declaration eventually led to over a decade of violence and war, which did not end until the last royalist stronghold fell in 1826. At the start of 1808, the Captaincy General of Chile – one of the smallest and poorest colonies in the […]