People, Locations, Episodes

Lucy Addison, Teacher born

*Lucy Addison was born on this date in 1861. She was a Black school teacher and principal.   Lucy Addison was born in Upperville, Virginia, to Charles Addison and Elizabeth Anderson Addison, both slaves. She was the third child born to the couple and the second daughter. After the emancipation of her family, her father […]

The Morrill Land-Grant Act is Passed

*On this date, 1862, the Morrill Land-Grant Act was passed. This act allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states and paved the way for many Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) using the proceeds of federal land sales.   The Morrill Act of 1862 was enacted during the American Civil War, and the Morrill Act […]

The Penn Normal Industrial, and Agricultural School, (South Carolina) Opens

*The founding of the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School in 1862 is celebrated on this date.

LeMoyne-Owen College is Founded

The founding of LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) in 1862 is marked on this date. This school, in Syracuse, N.Y., is one of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America.

The Normal School for Colored Girls, (Washington D.C.) Opens

*The Normal School for Colored Girls was chartered on this date in 1863.   Now known as the University of the District of Columbia, it was established in Washington, D.C., as an institution of learning and training for young Black women, especially to train teachers.  The school was founded in 1851 by Myrtilla Miner with encouragement from Henry Ward Beecher and funding from […]

Ariel Hedges Bowen, Educator born

*Ariel Hedges Bowen was born on this date in 1863. She was a Black writer, temperance activist, and professor of music.  Ariel Serena Hedges was born in Newark, New Jersey, where her father, Charles Hedges, was a Presbyterian clergyman. He graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1869 and organized churches in New York State. […]

Adella Hunt Logan, Educator born

Adella Hunt’s birth in 1863 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American educator and administrator.

She was born in Sparta, Georgia, the daughter of a Black woman and a white farmer, Henry Hunt. Her father served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He did not live with his eight children but he did help to pay for Adella’s education at Sparta’s Bass Academy and at Atlanta University. In 1883, young Hunt taught at the American Missionary School before joining Booker T. Washington and Olivia Davidson at the Tuskegee Institute.

Simon Atkins, Educator born

*Simon Atkins was born on this date in 1863. He was a Black educator and administrator.  Born to two former slaves, Simon Green Atkins was born on a farm in North Carolina rented by his former master, Capt. E. Bryan. In 1880, Atkins began his education in Haywood, NC, where he progressed to the top of […]

John Westley Gilbert, Archeologist born

*John Wesley Gilbert was born on this date in 1863. He was a Black archaeologist, educator, and missionary to the Congo. Gilbert was born enslaved in Hephzibah, Georgia, though he grew up near Augusta. He was named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Until he left Georgia, Gilbert “spent half the year on the […]

Kelly Miller, Historian, and Educator born

On this date, we mark the birth of Kelly Miller in 1863. He was a Black historian and educator, born in Winnsboro, S.C. to a mother who was a slave and his father a Confederate soldier.

The Albany Enterprise Academy Begins Classes.

*On this date in 1863, we celebrate the founding of the Albany Enterprise Academy.  This was an Ohio school created for the education of Blacks.  The paperwork issued on March 14, 1864, testifies to the intent of their curriculum. This broadsheet appeared in Albany, Ohio. It was distributed to “The Friends of the Colored People” […]

Susan Elizabeth Frazier, Teacher and Activist born.

*Susan Elizabeth Frazier was born on this date in 1864. She was a Black teacher and civic leader on women’s issues and African Americans’ rights and capacity. Susan Elizabeth Frazier was born in New York City to Helen Eldridge Frazier and Louis M. Frazier. She was the great-granddaughter of Black Revolutionary War Veteran Andrew Frazier. […]

Bowie State University is Founded

*On this date, 1865, Bowie State University (BSU) was founded. Bowie State University is a public historically black university (HBCU) in Prince George’s County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Bowie State is Maryland’s oldest HBCU and one of the ten oldest in America. Bowie State is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.   Bowie State […]

Lincoln College is Founded

*Lincoln College was founded on this date in 1865. It is a private HBCU college in Lincoln, Illinois, with roots dating back to the 19th century. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church established it but is now independent and has no formal church affiliation. A few other sites were possibilities for the institution; however, in December 1864, […]

Robert S. Wilkinson, Educator and Administrator born.

*Robert S. Wilkinson was born on this date in 1865. He was a Black educator and administrator. Robert Shaw Wilkinson was born to Charles and Lavinia A. Wilkinson in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston. 1884, Wilkinson was appointed to West Point Military Academy but failed to pass the physical […]