People, Locations, Episodes

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 […]

José María Morales, Legislator, and Soldier born

*José María Morales was born on this date in 1818. He was an Afro Argentine tinsmith legislator, and soldier. From Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was the son of a military patriot who fought in the British invasions. He also followed a military career and was part of the troops of Manuel Oribe until the age […]

Elizabeth Van Lew, Abolitionist, and Spy born

*Elizabeth Van Lew was born on this date in 1818.  She was a white-American abolitionist and philanthropist.  Elizabeth Van Lew was born in Richmond, Virginia, to John Van Lew and Eliza Baker, whose maternal grandfather was abolitionist Hilary Baker, mayor of Philadelphia from 1796 to 1798.  Her father came to Richmond in 1806 at 16; […]

Benjamin F. Butler, Military Officer born

*Benjamin Franklin Butler was born on this date in 1818.  He was a white-American major general, politician, lawyer, and businessman.   Born in Deerfield, New Hampshire, and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best known as a political major of the Union Army during the American Civil War and for his leadership role in the impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson. He was a colorful and often controversial figure on the […]

Benjamin F. Randolph, Chaplain, and Community Leader born

*The birth of Benjamin Franklin Randolph is celebrated on this date in 1820. He was a Black educator, an army chaplain, a minister, a newspaper editor, a politician,  Early life Benjamin Franklin Randolph was born in Kentucky, the child of free Blacks. He moved with his family to Ohio as a child, where he attended […]

John Jumper, Seminole Chief born

The birth of John Jumper is celebrated on this date in c.1820. He was a native American, Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation, a slave owner, and a Baptist pastor. He was born into a prominent Seminole family. His uncle was Micanopy, the leading chief of the Seminole tribe, and his father was Ote Emathla, […]

Harriet Robinson Scott, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Harriet Robinson Scott is celebrated on this date in c. 1820. She was a Black domestic who fought for her freedom alongside her husband, Dred Scott. Born into slavery, Harriet Robinson was brought from Pennsylvania to the Northwest Territory by Indian agent and slaveholder Lawrence Taliaferro in 1835. Around 1836, she married Dred […]

Nathan Forest, Confederate Officer born

*On this date in 1821, Nathan Forrest was born.  He was a white-American slave trader and Confederate army officer.  Nathan Bedford Forrest was born into a poor settler family in a secluded frontier cabin near Chapel Hill, Tennessee. He was the first son of Mariam (Beck) and William Forrest.  His father, William, was of English descent, and his mother, Mariam, was […]

Costa Rica Gains Independence From Spain

*The Republic of Costa Rica gained independence from Spain on this date in 1821.  The first Blacks to arrive in Costa Rica came through the middle passage with the Spanish conquistadors. Beginning in the 15th century, the slave trade was common in all the countries conquered by Spain. Costa Rica’s first Blacks were shipped from […]

Ulysses S. Grant, Soldier, and Politician born

*On this date, in 1822, Ulysses S. Grant was born. He was a white-American soldier and politician.   Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, to Jesse Root Grant, a tanner and merchant, and Hannah Simpson Grant. Grant’s great-grandfather fought in the French and Indian War, and his grandfather, Noah, served in the American Revolution at Bunker Hill. Their son Jesse (Ulysses’s father) was a Whig Party supporter […]

Hiram Revels, Congressman born

Hiram R. (Rhodes) Revels was born on this date in 1822. He was a Black educator, minister, and politician, and the first African American to serve in the United States Senate.