People, Locations, Episodes

Fred T. Jones, Doctor, and Activist born

*Fred T. Jones was born on this date in 1877. He was an African American Physician, administrator and community activist.

Algernon Jackson, Surgeon, and Author born

*Algernon Jackson was born on this date in 1878. He was a Black physician, surgeon, author, and columnist.   Algernon Brashear Jackson was born in Princeton, Indiana, to Charles A. Jackson and Sarah L. Brashear Jackson. His mother was a public school teacher in the area and received an extensive education at several institutions, including […]

George Imes, Physicist, and Educator born

*George Imes was born on this date in 1883.  He was a Black physicist and educator.  From Franklin County, PA, George Lake Imes was the son of George Imes and Lucinda Clark.  His father and older sister, Aura Imes, taught at the Hygienic School in Steelton, PA.  Imes attended there and Steelton High School, graduating […]

Lawrence Nixon, Physician, and Voting Advocate born

*Lawrence Nixon was born on this date in 1883. He was a Black physician and voting-rights advocate.

The Lemington Elder Care Services Opens

*On the Fourth of July 1883, Lemington Elder Care Services (LECS) began. Located in Pittsburgh, this was one of the first Homes for the Aged and Infirm Colored Women in America and it is the oldest continuously operated home for the aged existing in the United States.

Elmer Imes, Physicist born

*Elmer Imes was born on this date in 1883.  He was a Black scientist specializing in physics.  Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Elmer Samuel Imes, the son of Elizabeth (née Wallace) and Benjamin A. Imes, both of whom were college-educated and had met at Oberlin College in Ohio. They married there in 1880. His father earned a […]

Georgia Rooks Dwelle, Pediatric Physician born

*The birth of Georgia Rooks Dwelle is celebrated on this date in 1884.  She was a Black physician who specialized in obstetrics and pediatrics. Georgia Rooks Dwelle was born in Albany, Georgia, to former slaves Rev. George Henry Dwelle and Eliza (Dickerson) Dwelle. Her father was a founder of the Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia […]

John Baxter Taylor, Olympian and Veterinarian born

*John Baxter Taylor Jr. was born on this date in 1884. He was an African American veterinarian and Olympic track star.

The First Black Medical Society in America is Founded

On this date in 1884, The Medico-Chirurgical Society of Washington D.C. was founded. It was the first African American medical society.

St. Elmo Brady, Chemist born

*St. Elmo Brady was born on this date in 1884. He was an African American chemist.

Numa P. G. Adams, Doctor, and Educator born

*Numa Adams was born on this date in 1885. He was a Black doctor, educator, and administrator.   Numa Pompilius Garfield Adams was born in Delaplane, Virginia. He received his early education at a country school run by his uncle, Robert Adams. His grandmother, Amanda Adams, was a midwife who assisted Dr. Green in delivering babies. […]

Jean Hamilton Walls, Physicist born

*The birth of Jean Hamilton Walls in 1885 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American physicist and educator.

From Pittsburgh she was the daughter of. Walls graduated from Allegheny High School in 1904 and majored in mathematics and physics at Pitt. She received a master’s degree at Howard University in 1912 and taught at the Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore; the Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina; and the Fort Valley School in Georgia.

Hartford Burrell, Physician born

*Hartford Burwell was born on this date in 1885.  He was a Black doctor.  From Raleigh, North Carolina, Hartford Ranson Burwell attended Hampton Institute, Virginia, and graduated from Shaw University in Raleigh. He received his MD degree from Howard University in 1912. He interned at Freedmen’s Hospital, Washington, DC, and was on the staff from […]

Riley Ransom, Physician born

*Riley Andrew Ransom, a Black physician, was born on this date in 1886 in Columbus, KY. He was the son of Allen and Alice Ransom and a cousin to Bishop Isaac Lane, founder of Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. Ransom initially attended Lane College but soon transferred to Southern Illinois State Normal University in Carbondale, […]

Alice T. Gafford, Nurse, and Artist born

*On this date in 1886, Alice Taylor Gafford was born. She was an African American nurse and artist.

From Los Angeles, she was one of ten children of Benjamin and Alice Armstead Taylor, and the only one who showed an interest in art. She spent twenty-five years in the nursing profession before deciding to pursue her first love, painting. Gafford attended and graduated from the Otis Art Institute, receiving attention from critics when she won second prize for one of her paintings at the Stendahl Gallery on Wilshire Blvd.