John Murphy Sr.
This date marks the birthday of John Henry Murphy Sr, who was a Black journalist and businessman in 1840.
John Henry Murphy, Sr., was born a slave on Christmas day in Baltimore, Maryland, and served as a sergeant in the infantry during the American Civil War. He was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
After the war, he worked as a white washer and home decorator. In 1892, Murphy founded the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper, originally designed to serve a local church community.
With the assistance of his five sons and six daughters, he turned The Afro-American into one of the leading Black newspapers of the 20th century. John Henry Murphy, Sr., served as the paper's editor-in-chief until he died in 1922.
