*Miriam Matthews was born on this date in 1905. She was an African American historian, activist and lecturer.

From Pensacola, Florida, she was one of three children born to Ruben and Fannie (Elijah) Matthews. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a baby. Matthews received her A. B. from the University of California in 1926 and her certificate of librarians hip one year later. She was the first African American librarian in the Los Angeles Public Library system where she worked from 1927 to 1960, both as a branch librarian and as a supervisor of 12 branch libraries.