Mary Elliott Hill, a pioneer, educator and inventor, is known as one of the earliest African American women in the field of chemistry and is responsible (with her husband, Carl McClellan Hill) for the development of ketene synthesis. Hill’s research on ketene synthesis is described as a building block and significant in the science and medical community. Elliott—born January 5, […]

Lucy Breckenridge, best known for her diary covering early Washington State History, was born March 18, 1857, in Staunton, Virginia. In 1870, when Lucy was 13 years old, she did domestic work at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, Virginia. Henry Breckenridge, born October 31, 1848, was a laborer at the asylum. Lucy and Henry married on December 21, 1871, […]

Carroll Napier Langston (1881-1972), lawyer, banker, and businessman, was one of the principal founders of the One-Cent Savings Bank in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1904, it was the first Black institution of its kind and remains operational today as Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, the oldest continuously owned Black financial institution in the country. Langston was born in St. […]

Richard Gadson is an African American drag bike racer. He was born on March 8, 1986, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Much of Gadson’s early life is unknown, but he always had a passion for drag bike racing. Some of his earliest memories of the sport come from watching his uncle, Ricky, race in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in the 1990s. […]

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a talented actor, poet, musician, director, and producer, born on August 18, 1970, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was named after the civil rights activist Malcolm X and the jazz legend Ahmad Jamal. His father, Robert Warner Jr., worked in drug intervention programs and graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. After his parents’ divorce, his mother, […]

Roscoe Dubois Draper, the last instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen, served during World War II and was a “triple-rated” Tuskegee Airmen Flight Instructor. He was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1919, to Edgar and Ethel Draper, the fourth of nine children. His siblings were Earl Draper, Cora Draper, Percy Draper, Marie Draper Pierce, Barbara Draper Newton, William Draper, […]

Gilbert H. Bradley, Jr. was a pioneering politician who became the first African American mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was born on September 16, 1940, in Hodge, Louisiana, to Gilbert and Carrie Bradley. When he was three years old, his family moved to Inkster, Michigan. While much of Bradley’s early life remains undocumented, he attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, […]

Abdourahamane Tchiani, known as Omar Tchiani, is the current head of state of Niger, having assumed power following a military coup in July 2023. Born in the early 1960s (sources indicate 1960, 1961, or 1964) in Toukounous, Filingué, Niger, his trajectory reflects a deep engagement with the military and a gradual, yet ultimately decisive, rise to national leadership. Tchiani joined […]

William Samoei Arap Ruto, the fifth and current President of Kenya, was born on December 21, 1966, in Sambut village, Kamagut, in Uasin Gishu County. Ruto often recounts the poverty of his youth, including selling peanuts and chickens by the roadside, which instilled in him a deep understanding of economic hardship. His early life was characterized by a strong drive […]

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, born on March 25, 1980, in Ndiaganiao, Senegal, is the fifth and current President of Senegal, having assumed office on April 2, 2024. His ascent to the presidency is a remarkable story, particularly given his relatively recent emergence on the national political stage and his victory just weeks after being released from prison. At 44 years old, […]