Today In Black History • July 12, 1864 George Washington Carver, hall of fame scientist, botanist, educator and inventor, was born enslaved in Diamond, Missouri. Carver and his family were freed after slavery was abolished. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 and his Master of Science degree in 1896 from Iowa State Agricultural College where he was the first Black student and later the first Black faculty member. In 1896, he accepted the position to lead the Agricultural Department at Tuskegee University and remained there for 47 years. During that time, Carver devoted himself to the research and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, including peanuts and sweet potatoes. He also created approximately 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house. In 1923, Carver received the NAACP Spingarn Medal. Carver died January 5, 1943. On his grave is written, “He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.” On July 14, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri, the first national monument dedicated to an African American and also the first to a non-president. The United States Postal Service issued commemorative postage stamps in honor of Carver in 1948 and 1998. In 1977, Carver was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, in 1990 was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2000 was a charter inductee in the United States Department of Agriculture Hall of Heroes as the “Father of Chemurgy”. Biographies of Carver include “George Washington Carver: Man’s Slave, God’s Scientist” (1981) and “George Washington Carver: His Life & Faith in His Own Words” (2003). Dozens of schools around the country are named in his honor and his name is enshrined in the Ring of Genealogy at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. • July 12, 1887 The city of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was founded as an independent Black community by formerly enslaved people led by Isaiah Montgomery. Montgomery led the town through the 1920s. The population according to the 2010 census is 1,913 and 98% African American, one of the largest African American majority populations in the country. • July 12, 1894 Brent Woods received the Congressional Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration, for his actions during the Indian Wars. Woods was born enslaved in 1855 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. He was freed at the end of the Civil War and at the age of 18 enlisted in the United States Army. By August 19, 1881, he was serving as a sergeant in Company B of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. On that day, Woods participated in an engagement in New Mexico where, according to his citation, he “saved the lives of his comrades and citizens of the detachment”. Woods retired from the army in 1902 and not much else is known of his life except that he died March 31, 1906. Woods was buried in an unmarked grave but in 1984 his remains were found and re-buried with full military honors. • July 12, 1912 Laurean Rugambwa, the first native African Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, was born in Bukongo, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). After completing his philosophy and theology studies at Katigondo Seminary in Uganda, he was ordained a priest in 1943. Rugambwa did missionary work in West Africa until 1948 when he went to Rome to study at the Pontifical Urbaniana University where he earned his doctorate in canon law. In 1952, he was ordained a bishop and was elected the first African cardinal in church history March 28, 1960. In 1969, Rugambwa was made Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. He held that position until his retirement in 1992. During that time, he built the first Catholic hospital and founded a female religious order, the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. Rugambwa died December 8, 1997. • July 12, 1920 Beau Richards, stage, film and television actress, was born Beulah Richardson in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Richards graduated from Dillard University in 1948 and two years later moved to New York City. Her career started to take off in 1955 with her appearance in the off-Broadway production of “Take a Giant Step”. Broadway productions in which Richards appeared include “The Miracle Worker” (1957) and “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959). In 1965, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in “The Amen Corner”. In 1967, Richards was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. Other notable movie performances include “Hurry Sundown” (1967), “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), and “Beloved” (1998). Richards made numerous television appearances and won the Prime Time Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in 1988 for an appearance in “Frank’s Place” and in 2000 for an appearance in “The Practice”. Richards died September 14, 2000. In 2003, she was the subject of the documentary “Beau: A Black Woman Speaks”. • July 12, 1932 Otis Crandall Davis, hall of fame track and field athlete, was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Davis did not start running track until he was 26 years old at the University of Oregon. He was the national outdoor 400 meter champion in 1960 and 1961. At the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, Davis won the Gold medal in the 400 meter race, setting a world record and becoming the first man to run the race in under 45 seconds. He also won a Gold medal as part of the 4 by 400 meter relay team. That same year, Davis earned his Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education. After retiring from track, he served for many years as a teacher, coach and counselor. In 1999, Davis co-founded the Tri-States Olympic Alumni Association and currently serves as president. In 2004, Davis was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame. • July 12, 1936 Rose Virginia Scott McClendon, a leading Broadway actress of the 1920s, died. McClendon was born August 27, 1884 in Greenville, South Carolina. She started acting in church plays as a child but did not become a professional actress until she won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Art when she was in her thirties. McClendon made her stage debut in the 1919 play “Justice”. She was one of the few Black actresses who worked consistently during the 1920s and was considered “the Negro first lady of the dramatic stage”, appearing in productions such as “Deep River” (1926), “Porgy” (1928), and “Mulatto” (1936). In 1935, McClendon co-founded the Negro People’s Theatre in Harlem and after her death the Rose McClendon Players was established in her honor.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 11:09:34 +0000
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