People, Locations, Episodes

Estelle Ricketts, Composer born

*This date in 1871 celebrates the birth of Estelle Ricketts, a Black composer who lived in Darby, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She lived with her mother, her younger brother, and her father, who operated a boarding stable. She was the only one in her family who could read and write.           Career            Estelle Ricketts’s […]

James Weldon Johnson, Lyricist, and Composer born

James Weldon Johnson was born on this date in 1871. He was an African American composer, lyricist, publisher, lawyer, and educator.

John Work Jr., Musicologist and Choral Director born

*John Work Jr. was born on this date in 1871.  He was a Black musicologist, choral director, educationalist, singer, and songwriter. John Wesley Work Jr. was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and was the son of Samuella and John Wesley Work. His father was a choir director, and some members were in the original Fisk Jubilee […]

Walter Loving, Military Investigator, and Bandleader born

*Walter Loving was born on this date in 1872. He was an African American soldier and musician most noted for his leadership of the Philippine Constabulary Band.

John W. Cooper, Ventriloquist born

*John W. Cooper was born on this date in 1873.  He was a Black ventriloquist and singer.   From Brooklyn, New York, he lost both of his parents very young.  Cooper received his education at Professor Dorsey’s Institute in Brooklyn.  While at Dorsey, he developed into a promising entertainer and took a special interest in ventriloquism, […]

Daniel Desdunes, Musician born

*The birth of Daniel Desdunes is celebrated on this date, c.1873. He was a Black Creole activist and musician.  Daniel F. Desdunes was born in New Orleans to Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes and Mathilde (Cheval). His father was a customs agent, civil rights activist, journalist, historian, and poet. His siblings were Agnes, Louise, Coritza, and Wendelle. In 1879, his […]

Enoch Sontonga, Lyricist born

*The birth of Enoch Sontonga is celebrated on this date, c. 1873. He was a Black South African composer and minister. Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, a Xhosa, was born in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape Colony. He trained as a teacher at the Lovedale Institution and subsequently worked as a teacher and choirmaster at the Methodist Mission […]

Tom Turpin, Ragtime Musician born

Tom Turpin’s birth in 1873 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American musician and businessman from Savannah, Georgia.

John R. Johnson, Composer born

*On this date in 1873, John R. Johnson was born. He was an African American composer and arranger.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot, a story

*This date, in 1873, celebrates the first public performance of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”  It was written by Wallace Willis, a Black Choctaw freedman in Choctaw County near Hugo, Oklahoma, sometime before 1863. He may have been inspired by the sight of the Red River, by which he was working, which reminded him of the Bible River Jordan and of the […]

Cecil Mack, Music Publisher born

*Cecil Mack was born on this date in 1873.  He was a Black composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Born Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission School and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (class of 1897) before moving to New York City, where the 1900 Federal Census lists his occupation as a stenographer.   Mack started […]

W.C. Handy, Composer, and Bandleader born

W. C. Handy was born on this date in 1873. He was an African American composer, cornet player, and bandmaster,

Maud Hare, Writer, and Musician born

*Maud Cuney-Hare was born on this date in 1874. She was an African American musician and writer.

From Galveston, TX, her parents were Adelina (Dowdy) and Norris Wright Cuney. After graduating from Central High School in Galveston in 1890, she studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. While there she successfully resisted the pressure that white students exerted on the school’s administrators to have her barred from living in the dormitory.

Belle Davis, Vaudeville Singer born

*Belle Davis was born on this date in 1874. She was a Black choreographer, dancer, and singer. Life: Davis was born in Chicago (although some say New Orleans). She was a mulatto and was encouraged to darken her skin to fit the stereotype of a black entertainer. In 1890, she joined the new burlesque “Creole Show” at […]

Carlos Posadas, Musician, and Composer born

*Carlos Posadas was born on this date in 1874. He was an Afro-Argentinean musician and composer.