101 Black Firsts

As I pulled together this list of black achievements, I was astounded by how much black people have accomplished over the past few hundred years. Though it’s hard to decide which surprised me more–how far back these achievements go or the number of firsts still being accomplished during my lifetime given all the progress we’ve made. While these accomplishments are great and far-reaching, this is by no means a comprehensive list. These 101 black first are just a few among a long list of many others.

1600s

• 1640 – Landowners, Anthony and Mary Johsnon
• 1641 – Officeholder in colonial America, Matthias de Souza

1700s

• 1773 – Published poet, Phyllis Wheatley

1800s

• 1821 – Patent holder, Thomas l. Jennings
• 1823 – College graduate, Alexander Lucius Twilight
• 1837 – M.D., James McCune Smith, University of Glasgow
• 1845 – Lawyer, Macon Bolling Allen
• 1850 – Female college graduate, Lucy Stanton
• 1854 – Roman Catholic priest, James Augustine Healy
• 1855 – Local elected official, John Mercer (Langston, Ohio)
• 1863 – College owned and fully operated by blacks, Wilberforce university
• 1866 – Female enlistee in U.S. Army – Cathay Williams
• 1870 – U.S. Senator, Hiram R. Revels
• 1870 – Publich high school, Paul Lawrence Dunbar High
• 1870 – Voter in an election under the 15th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson
• 1872 – Vice Presidential candidate, Frederick Douglas
• 1872 – Governor (appointed), P. B. S. Pinchback
• 1874 – Elected Senator, Blanche Kelso
• 1876 – Ph. D., Edward a Bouchet (Yale)
• 1877 – West Point Academy graduate, Henry Ossian Flipper
• 1881 – Signature appeared on U.S. paper currency, Blanche K. Bruce (Register of the Treasury)
• 1889 – Black-owned bank, True Reformers Bank
• 1893 – Heart surgery pioneer, Daniel Hale Williams

1900s

• 1900 – Congressional Medal of Honor, Sgt. William H. Carney (Civil War)
• 1901 – Invited to dine at the White House, Booker T. Washington
• 1902 – Professional basketball player, Henry Lew (New England Professional Basketball League)
• 1904 – Participant in the Olympics and first to win a medal, George Poage (Bronze in 200m and 400m hurdles)
• 1904 – Presidential candidate, George Edwin Taylor
• 1904 – National political party created for and by blacks, National Liberty Party
• 1907 – Rhodes Scholar, Alain L. Locke
• 1908 – Heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson
• 1909 – Explorer to North Pole, Matthew Henson
• 1919 – FBI Special agent, James Wormley Jones
• 1919 – Self-made female millionaire, Madame C. J. Walker
• 1921 – Licensed pilot, Bessie Coleman
• 1921 – Record company, Black Swan Records
• 1922 – NFL coach, Fritz Pollard
• 1923 – American Institute of Architects member (and architect to Hollywood’s golden age A-list), Paul Revere Williams
• 1926 – To perform at Grand Ole Opry, Deford Bailey
• 1936 – Movie with an African-American interracial relationship, Show Boat
• 1940 – Oscar winner, Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind)
• 1940 – Inventor of the blood bank, Dr. Charles Drew
• 1942 – Member of the U.S. Marine Corps, Alfred Masters
• 1945 – Mass circulation magazine, Ebony
• 1946 – Federal Judge, William Henry Hastie
• 1947 – Major League Baseball player, Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers)
• 1950 – Pulitzer Prize winner, Gwendolyn Brooks
• 1950 – Nobel Peace Prize, Ralph J. Bunche
• 1955 – Member of the Metropolitan Opera, Marian Anderson
• 1956 – Network t.v. show host, Nat King Cole (The Nat King Cole show)
• 1957 – Tennis champion, Althea Gibson
• 1958 – Grammy award winner, Count Basie
• 1958 – Flight attendant, Ruth Carol Taylor
• 1959 – Principal dancer in a major dance company, Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet)
• 1961 – Heisman Trophy winner, Ernie Davis (Syracuse University)
• 1962 – NFL #1 draft pick, Ernie Davis (Cleveland Browns)
• 1963 – Time magazine’s Man of the Year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• 1963 – Winner of a NASCAR Grand National event, Wendell Scott
• 1963 – Chess master, U. S. Naval Scientist, Walter Harris
• 1964 – 1st African-American pilot for a major commercial airline: David Harris (American Airlines)
• 1966 – NBA Coach, Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)
• 1966 – U.S. Cabinet member, Robert C. weaver (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• 1967 – Astronaut, Robert H. Lawrence
• 1967 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice – Thurgood Marshall
• 1968 – Female elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm
• 1969 – Superhero, The Falcon in Captain America
• 1969 – Director of a major Hollywood motion picture, Gordon Parks (The Learning Tree)
• 1970 – New York Stock Exchange member, Joseph L. Searles III
• 1973 – Bond girl in a James Bond Movie, Gloria Hendry (as Rosie Carter, Live and Let Die)
• 1974 – Model on the cover of the U.S. Vogue magazine, Beverly Johnson
• 1975 – T.V. series with African-American interracial couple, The Jeffersons (Franklin Cover and Roxie Roker as Tom and Helen Willis)
• 1977 – Female to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, Karen Batchelor
• 1980 – T.V. station, Black Entertainment Television
• 1984 – Miss America, Vanessa L. Williams
• 1986 – Musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Little Richard
• 1987 – Female inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin
• 1987 – 1st successful operation to separate Siamese twin infants, Dr. Benjamin Carson
• 1989 – Mayor of NYC, David Dinkins
• 1989 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell
• 1989 – Elected Governor – Douglas Wilder (Virginia)
• 1991 – Publicy traded company on NYSE stock exchange, Black Entertainment Television
• 1991 – Female to mayor of a major U.S. city, Sharon Pratt Kelly (District of Columbia)
• 1992 – Female astronaut, Mae Jamison
• 1992 – Female elected U.S. Senator – Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)
• 1997 – Golf champion, Tiger Woods (Masters)
• 1998 – Mayor of Houston, Lee P. Brown
• 1999 – CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, Franklin Raines (Fannie Mae)

2000s

• 2001 – Billionaire, Robert L. Johnson (Black Entertainment Television)
• 2001 – Ivy League president, Ruth Simmons, Brown University
• 2002 – Academy Award winner for Best Actress – Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball)
• 2002 – Majority owner of a major U.S. sports team, Robert Johnson (Charlotte Bobcats)
• 2003 – Career Grand Slam in tennis, Serena Williams
• 2005 – Female Secretary of State – Condoleeza Rice
• 2006 – To reach the peak of Mt. Everest, Sophia Danenberg
• 2006 – Gold medal at Winter Olympics, Shani Davis
• 2007 – NFL Head Coach to win the Super Bowl, Tony Dungy
• 2008 – Referee a Super Bowl game, Mike Carey
• 2008 – Elected President – Barack Obama
• 2009 – Disney princess, Tiana
• 2009 – Female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Ursala Burns (Xerox)
• 2012 – Gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics, Gabrielle Douglas

Read more in the Celebrating Black History Month series.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_firsts
• http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmfirsts.html
• http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/101-african-american-firsts
• http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/black-history-firsts

Your turn…Which “first” surprised you most? Are there any other firsts you can add to the list?

Recommended Book of the Day

Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 is a book I believe should be in the home of every family with a keen interest in black history. Written by the brilliant Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., it encapsulates the history of African Americans through 1513 through 2008. At more than 400 pages, it barely glosses over the history of blacks. Yet, as I flipped through page after page, I was constantly saying, Wow, I didn’t know that. If you have kids 5th grade and up, I’d definitely recommend having them read through this book.

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