John Mercer Langston, a pioneering lawyer, educator, and politician, was born on this day in Louisa County, Virginia. Born free in a slaveholding society, Langston became one of the most prominent African American leaders of the 19th century.

• He was the first African American elected to public office in the United States (Town Clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio, 1855).

• He became the first dean of Howard University’s Law School and helped train a generation of Black lawyers.

• In 1888, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia, making him the first Black congressman from Virginia.

Langston was also the great-uncle of renowned poet Langston Hughes. His legacy is one of leadership, education, and breaking barriers in politics and civil rights.