People, Locations, Episodes

The Royal Theatre, (Baltimore) Opens

*The Royal Theatre first opened on this date in 1922.   Located at 1329 Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, it started as the Black-owned Douglass Theatre. It was the most famous theater along West Baltimore City’s Pennsylvania Avenue, one of a circuit of five such theaters for black entertainment in big cities. Its sister theaters were the Apollo in Harlem, the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., […]

Boxer Jack Johnson Patents a Wrench

On this date in 1922, Jack Johnson, the world’s first African American heavyweight boxing champion, patented a wrench; (U. S. patent#1,413,121).

Ethel Sayles, Administrator born

Ethel Sayles was born on this date in 1922. She was an African American administrator and biostatistician.

Born in Kilmichael, MS., Ethel Mae Baines and her sister, Corrine, were daughters of Elva Lee Sanders Baines and Shed Hill Baines. As a young girl, she and her sister attended St John’s Methodist Church in Natchez, MS, and spent their summers with their grandparents. Mama Cora (her mother’s side of the family-Sanders) kept their toys in a blanket, which she took down each time they visited.

Dorthea Church, Fashion Model born

Dorthea Church was born on this date in 1922. She was an African American fashion model and educator.

Born Dorothea Towles in Texarkana, TX, she was the seventh of eight children in a farming family. She attended Wiley College in Marshall, TX, where she majored in biology. After her mother’s death, a wealthy uncle invited her to move into his house in Los Angeles. She transferred to the University of Southern California, where she received a master’s degree in education.

Ernest Withers, Photographer, and Informant born

*Ernest Withers was born on this date in 1922.  He was a Black freelance photographer and FBI informant.   Ernest C. Withers was born in Memphis.  After high school, he worked as a photographer in the Army in World War II and started a studio when he returned. He also worked for about three years as […]

Ophelia DeVore, Fashion Entrepreneur born

*On this date in 1922 Ophelia DeVore was born. She was an African American fashion model, and is an entrepreneur.

Lorraine Gordon, Jazz Music Advocate, born

*Lorraine Gordon was born on this date in 1922.  She was a white Jewish-American businesswoman and American jazz music advocate.  Born Lorraine Stein, she grew up in Newark, New Jersey. As a teenager, she was an ardent fan of jazz music.  In 1942, she married Alfred Lion, co-founder of Blue Note Records. In the 1940s, Gordon and Lion recorded the works of jazz artists such as […]

Leon Sullivan, Workforce Development Advocate born

The Reverend Leon H. Sullivan was born on this date 1922. He was an African American minister, businessman, educator, and founder of a nonprofit organization to create more jobs for blacks.

Marie Van Brittan Brown, Inventor born

*Marie Van Brittan Brown was born on this date in 1922. She was an African American nurse and inventor.

Born Marie Van Brittan in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, in 1966 she had the idea for a home surveillance device. She applied for a patent along with her husband Albert Brown in 1966 for a closed circuit television security system. They created a system for a motorized camera to show images on a monitor. The patent, #3,482,037 was granted. Her devise was the forerunner to the modern home security system.

Leah Chase, Culinary Chef born

*Leah Chase was born on this date in 1923. She is an African American entrepreneur and master chef.

Opportunity Magazine is Published

*The first issue of Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life was published in January 1923. Opportunity was an academic journal published by the National Urban League (NUL). The journal acted as a sociological forum for the emerging topic of African American studies and was known for fostering the literary culture during the Harlem Renaissance. It was published monthly from 1923 to 1942 and then […]

Herman Leonard, Photographer born

*Herman Leonard was born on this date in 1923. He was a white Jewish-American photographer known for his unique images of jazz icons. From Allentown, Pennsylvania, his parents, Joseph Leonard and Rose Morrison, were Romanian immigrants who emigrated from Yassi, Romania, to the United States.  Leonard earned a BFA in photography 1947 from Ohio University, […]

Arthur J. Wilson, Accountant born

*Arthur J. Wilson was born on this date in 1923. He was a Black Certified Public Accountant (CPA). From Omaha, NB., Arthur Jewell Wilson was the son of Maynard Wilson, who served as secretary to the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, for nearly 20 years. He graduated from the University of Illinois and is a member […]

Harry Davis Sr., Minnesota Civic Leader born

Harry Davis was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American civil rights activist, politician and businessman.

Lorenzo Williams, Architect born

*Lorenzo Williams was born on September 3, 1923. He was an African American architect, entrepreneur and activist.