People, Locations, Episodes

William Tappen Thompson, Segregationist born

*William Tappan Thompson was born on this date in 1812. He was a white-American segregationist, journalist, and writer who promoted the Confederacy’s second national flag as “The White Man’s Flag.” Originally from Ohio, Thompson moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he co-founded the Daily Morning News and became an editor.  Thompson left the paper in 1867 to travel to Europe. In 1868, […]

John Fremont, Politician, and Abolitionist born

*John Fremont was born on this date in 1813. He was a White American soldier, politician and abolitionist.

From Savannah, Georgia, educated at Charleston College, he taught mathematics before joining the Army Topographical Engineers Corps in 1838. Among other field services, in 1842 Fremont mapped most of the Oregon Trail and climbed the second highest peak in the Wind River Mountains, afterwards known as Fremont Peak. Fremont made many expeditions; in 1845 he explored the Great Basin and the Pacific coast.

Robert Bridges Forten, Soldier, and Abolitionist born

*Robert Bridges Forten was born on this date in 1813. He was a Black sailmaker, abolitionist, and Union Army soldier.   He was the son of James Forten, abolitionist and co-founder of the Free African Society, and Charlotte Vandine. He was one of nine children educated privately due to segregation in Philadelphia area schools. Family, friends, and acquaintances considered young […]

Caesar Bruner, Seminole Chief born

*The birth of Caesar Bruner is celebrated on this date in 1813.   He was a Black Seminole Chief and interpreter.  Born in Indian Territory as a free man, he was the son of William and Effie Bruner, both former slaves of Tom Bruner, who had manumitted them.  He was born shortly after the arrival of […]

The Negro Fort (Florida), a story

*The Negro Fort is celebrated on November 13, 1814.  Also known as Fort Gadsden and the Prospect Bluff Historic Site, it is located in Franklin County, Florida.  It was constructed on the Apalachicola River, 6 miles SW of Sumatra, Florida. The British built the site during the War of 1812.   After the British evacuated Florida […]

Edwin M. Stanton, Politician born

*Edwin McMasters Stanton was born on this date in 1814. He was a white-American lawyer and politician.   The first of David and Lucy Stanton’s four children, Edwin McMasters, was born to them in Steubenville, Ohio. Edwin’s early formal education consisted of a private school and a seminary behind Stanton’s residence called “Old Academy.”  He […]

The White House of the Confederacy is Built

*The White House of the Confederacy was built on this date in 1815. It is a historic house in the Court End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. It was built as the main executive residence of the sole President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, from August 1861 until April 1865. It was considered the Confederate States’ counterpart to the White House in […]

Edward Roye, Politician, and Businessman born

*Edward J. Roye was born on this date in 1815. He was a Black businessman and politician.

Born in a little house on what is now Mount Vernon Road in Newark, Ohio, he was educated in Newark schools, but nothing much is known of his early years. In 1822, his father sold his Newark property and went to Illinois, leaving Edward and his mother behind. In 1829, his father left all his property acquired in Illinois to his son Edward. Young Roye became a barber and in 1832 he was enrolled in Ohio University in Athens.

Nathaniel Banks, Officer, and Politician born

*Nathaniel Banks was born on this date in 1816. He was a white-American politician and a military officer.   Nathaniel Prentice Banks was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, and was the first child of Nathaniel P. Banks, Sr., and Rebecca Greenwood Banks. His father worked in the textile mill of the Boston Manufacturing Company, eventually becoming […]

Stephen A. Benson, Liberian Leader born

The birth of Stephen Allen Benson in 1816 is celebrated on this date. He was Black businessman and politician.

Argentina Gains Independence From Spain

*On this date in 1816, Argentina gained independence from Spain. This resulted from the Argentine War of Independence, fought from 1810 to 1818. The population of Buenos Aires was highly militarized during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Buenos Aires was captured in 1806 and then liberated […]

Macon B. Allen, Lawyer, and Teacher born

*Macon Bolling Allen was born on this date in 1816. He was a Black teacher, lawyer and judge.

From Indiana, born Allen Macon Bolling, he grew up free man. He learned to read and write on his own and eventually landed his first a job as a schoolteacher, where he further improved his reading and writing skills. Allen moved to Portland, Maine in the early 1840s and studied law and worked as a law clerk for General Samuel Fessenden, a local abolitionist and attorney.

John Jones, Politician born

John Jones’s birth in 1817 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black apprentice tailor, writer, and politician.

Born a free man in North Carolina, he taught himself to read and write. Jones started his own business and after a long struggle, he became one of the richest Black men in America. Jones used some of his wealth in the campaign against slavery. He moved to Chicago and made his home into an Underground Railway Station.

Alfred Russell, Politician, and Missionary born

The birth of Alfred Francis Russell in 1817 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black missionary, businessman, and politician.

Alexander II, Russian Emperor born.

*Alexander II was born on this date in 1818. He was a white Russian Emperor, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland. Born in Moscow, Alexander Nikolayevich was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. His uncle, Emperor Alexander I, died childless. Grand Duke Konstantin, the next-younger brother of […]