Black - African American History Facts

The Fourteenth Amendment, granting citizenship to Blacks, was passed by the House on this date in 1866.

Oscar James Dunn took office as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana on this date in 1868. This was the highest elected office held by a Black person at the time.

T. W. Stewart, inventor, patented the Mop on this date in 1893. Patent # 499,402.

Thomas Green "Blind Tom" Bethune, pianist and composer, died on this date in 1908. Although he died broke, Bethune had a European tour in 1866 that netted some $100,000.

Elder Hawkins Garnet, the first black moderator of the United Presbyterian Church, was born in New York on this date in 1908.

Eleanor Holmes-Norton, Yale Law School graduate and the first black female delegate (non-voting) to Congress from Washington, DC, was born on this date in 1937.

Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson on this date in 1967. Marshall became the Supreme Court's first black Associate Justice.

Harvey Johnson was elected as the first black mayor of Jackson, MS, on this date in 1997.