On this date in 1984, Rev. Jesse Jackson successfully negotiated the release of U.S. Navy Lt. Robert Goodman, a pilot who had been shot down over... Continue →
On this date in 1947, the **NAACP's 1947 report** highlighted the extreme racial violence that African Americans, particularly returning Black... Continue →
William H. Hastie, the first African American to serve as a civilian aide to the U.S. Secretary of War, resigned his position to protest the ongoing... Continue →
Colonel Charles Young, the first African American to reach the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army, passed away on this day. A trailblazer and military... Continue →
The final major battle of the War of 1812 was fought between American forces, led by General Andrew Jackson, and the British Army. Among Jackson’s... Continue →
On this day, U.S. federal troops and local militias suppressed the 1811 German Coast Uprising in Louisiana, one of the largest slave revolts in U.S.... Continue →
With the Confederacy facing imminent defeat and suffering from severe troop shortages, General Robert E. Lee proposed the use of enslaved African... Continue →
Charity Adams Earley, the first Black woman commissioned as an officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and commander of the only... Continue →
On this day, Vernon Baker, a U.S. Army lieutenant and World War II veteran, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. Baker was one... Continue →
On this day in 1864, Grant outwitted Lee by shifting campaign from Cold Harbor to Petersburg. Surprise attack by Gen. W.F. ("Baldy") Smith succeeded... Continue →
ON this day in 1812,the United States declared war on Britain War. Although the U.S. Army did not enlist African Americans after the Revolutionary... Continue →
On this day in 1964, Siege of Petersburg and Richmond began. Thirty-two Black infantry regiments and Black cavalry regiments were involved in siege.... Continue →
On this date in 1775, Peter Salem a free slave and a private in Captain Simon Edgel's company at the battle of Bunker Hill, was the first military... Continue →
On this date in 1862, Congress authorized President Lincoln to accept blacks in Union Army.
On this date in 1775, Blacks soldiers fought at Battle of Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. Among the heroes of the battle were Peter Salem and Salem... Continue →
On this date in 1942, the U.S. Navy commissions its first black officer, Harvard University medical student Bernard Whitfield Robinson.
On this date in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the Tenth Cavalry, a regiment of the famed Buffalo Soldiers, played a crucial role in the... Continue →
On this date in 1873, Henry Ossian Flipper became the first African American cadet to be admitted to the United States Military Academy at West... Continue →
On this date in 1870, James Webster Smith became the first Black cadet to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point. However, he faced... Continue →
On this date in 1943, Lt. Charles B. Hall, a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, became the first Black pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft... Continue →
On this date in 2002, Four Star General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first African American general in the United States Air Force, passed away at age... Continue →
On this date in 1966, the National Guard was mobilized in Omaha, Nebraska, following the third consecutive night of violent rioting. The unrest began... Continue →
On this date in 1876, the Hamburg Massacre took place in Hamburg, South Carolina, when a white supremacist mob attacked a group of Black Republican... Continue →
On this date in 1863, the siege of Port Hudson was a significant moment in the Civil War. After a long and grueling siege that lasted from May 22 to... Continue →
On this date in 1818, Cyrus Tiffany: African American heroism was not daunted by Captain Oliver H. Perry's opinion of African American sailors. An... Continue →
On this date in 1775, Horatio Gates, serving as George Washington's adjutant general, issued an order prohibiting Black men—both free and... Continue →
On this date in 1967, racial violence erupted in Newark, New Jersey, marking one of the most significant riots during the period of civil unrest in... Continue →
On this date in 1966, the city of Chicago experienced a race riot that was part of a larger wave of unrest in American cities during the 1960s. The... Continue →
On this date in 1963, the National Guard was deployed to impose limited martial law in Cambridge, Maryland, following violent clashes between... Continue →
On this date in 1951, Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois called out the National Guard to restore order in Cicero, Illinois, following violent... Continue →
On this date in 1863, the "Enrollment Act" (mandatory draft) takes effect, with exemption for the wealthy, which led to summer draft riots in New... Continue →
On this date in 1869, A.J. Hayne, a Black captain of the Arkansas militia, was assassinated in Marion, Arkansas. His death occurred in the context of... Continue →
On this date in 1864, General Andrew Jackson Smith, commanding a Union force of around 14,000 men, including a brigade of African American troops,... Continue →
On this date in 1967, the race riot in Cairo, Illinois, was a significant event in the Civil Rights Movement. Tensions between the African American... Continue →
On this date in 1944, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California exploded. The explosion was a significant event during World War II. It occurred... Continue →
The Battle of Honey Springs, fought on July 17, 1863, was a significant engagement during the American Civil War. Union forces, including the First... Continue →
On July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which was an important step toward granting freedom to enslaved African Americans... Continue →
On this date in 1863, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was one of the first official African American regiments in the... Continue →
On this date in 1863, Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry became the first African American to be awarded the Congressional... Continue →
On July 19, 1941, the first U.S. Army flying school for Black cadets was dedicated at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. This was a significant... Continue →
On July 19, 1967, a riot broke out in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of the broader civil unrest occurring across the United States during the late... Continue →
On July 20, 1950, during the Korean War, the 24th Infantry Regiment, an all-Black unit of the U.S. Army, achieved the first U.S. victory in Korea.... Continue →
On this date in 1951,Private First Class (PFC) William H. Thompson was the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during... Continue →
On July 22, 1848, President Abraham Lincoln presented a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet, though it would take a few more years... Continue →
Louis Tompkins Wright, born on July 23, 1924, was a prominent physician and one of the first African American physicians to make significant... Continue →
On July 24, 1992, General Colin Powell, who was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, dedicated the Buffalo Soldiers Monument at... Continue →
On July 25, 1972, the U.S. government admitted to the existence of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a medical study that began in 1932. In this... Continue →
On July 25, 1943, the SS Leonard Roy Harmon was launched in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was a significant moment in history as it was the first warship... Continue →
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order No. 9981, which desegregated the United States Armed Forces. This historic... Continue →
The story of Garcia and Fort Negro is a fascinating chapter in American history. After the War of 1812, a group of African Americans,... Continue →
On July 27, 1968, a riot erupted in Gary, Indiana, amid the racial and social tensions that marked the late 1960s in the United States. The unrest... Continue →
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was a significant and tragic event in American history. It was part of the larger "Red Summer" of 1919, during which... Continue →
On July 27, 1816, Fort Blount—more commonly known as Negro Fort—on the Apalachicola River in Florida was attacked by U.S. forces and their Creek... Continue →
On July 28, 1915, U.S. Marines landed in Haiti, beginning an occupation that lasted until 1934. This intervention was primarily driven by U.S.... Continue →
Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. was selected by NASA in January 1990 and officially became an astronaut in July 1991. He was qualified for the mission... Continue →
The Milwaukee riot took place from July 30 to August 3, 1967, during a time of racial tension across the United States. The riot was sparked by an... Continue →
White Democrats, led by police, attacked a convention of Black and white Republicans in New Orleans. More than 40 persons were killed, and at least... Continue →
On July 30, 1864, during the American Civil War, the Union forces attempted a major assault by exploding a mine beneath the Confederate lines near... Continue →
President Abraham Lincoln issued the "eye-for-eye" order on July 30, 1863, during the Civil War as part of his efforts to address the treatment of... Continue →
On July 31, 1969, the Louisiana National Guard was mobilized in response to racial disturbances in Baton Rouge. These disturbances stemmed from... Continue →
On August 1, 1943, a race riot erupted in Harlem, New York City, following rising tensions between African Americans and the police. The riot was... Continue →
On August 1, 1868, Governor Henry C. Warmoth of Louisiana called for federal military intervention in the state, highlighting a severe... Continue →
On August 2, 1951, First Lieutenant Vernon Baker became the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean... Continue →
On August 3, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, African American soldier James Armistead Lafayette played a pivotal role in... Continue →
John Lawson was a notable African American sailor who served as a gunner on the USS Hartford, Admiral David Farragut's flagship during the Battle of... Continue →
On August 6, 1941, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and involved a violent altercation between Black and white soldiers, resulting in the... Continue →
On August 12, 1965, a race riot erupted on the West Side of Chicago, following tensions related to civil rights, police brutality, and economic... Continue →
Charles Edward Anderson, born on August 13, 1919, was an influential American meteorologist. He is particularly known for his pioneering work in... Continue →
On August 13, 1906, an incident known as the Brownsville Raid occurred in Brownsville, Texas, involving a group of African American soldiers from the... Continue →
On August 18, 1976, Vice Admiral Samuel L. Garvely Jr. assumed command of the U.S. Third Fleet. The Third Fleet is a major fleet of the U.S. Navy,... Continue →
Charles F. Bolden Jr. was born on August 19, 1946, in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Marine Corps major... Continue →
The SS Frederick Douglass was a Liberty ship named in honor of the famous abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass. Liberty ships were... Continue →
On August 21, 1943, Major Charity Adams Earley became the first Black woman to be promoted to the rank of major in the Women's Army Corps (WAC)... Continue →
James Stone was an African American who fought in the Civil War, and there are records suggesting that he was one of the first Black soldiers to... Continue →
On August 25, 1862, during the Civil War, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton authorized Major General Rufus Saxton to enlist and arm up to 5,000... Continue →
Katherine G. Johnson was a pioneering mathematician and aerospace technologist whose work at NASA was crucial in the success of several space... Continue →
On August 28, 1966, the National Guard was mobilized in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to protect civil rights marchers protesting against racial segregation.... Continue →
On August 30, 1969, the National Guard was mobilized in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to control racial disturbances that erupted during a period of... Continue →
On September 1, 1975, General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. was promoted to the rank of four-star general. This historic promotion made him the first... Continue →
On September 2, 1945, World War II officially ended with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.... Continue →
On September 2, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman occupied Atlanta, marking a significant moment in the American Civil War. This strategic... Continue →
On September 3, 1918, during World War I, five soldiers from the British Army were hanged for desertion. The soldiers were executed for abandoning... Continue →
On September 11, 1974, Haile Selassie I, the last Emperor of Ethiopia, was deposed after a military coup led by the Derg, a Marxist-Leninist... Continue →
On this date in 1962, Some twelve thousand federal soldiers restored order on the University of Mississippi campus. James H. Meredith, escorted by... Continue →
On this date in 1951, The Twenty-fourth Infantry Regiment, last of all-Black units military units authorized by Congress in 1866, deactivated in... Continue →
On this date in 1935, Robert H Lawrence (Named the first Black astronaut), was born on this date.
On this date in 1935, Ethiopia, one of the only two independent African nations at the time, was invaded by Facist Italy under Benito Mussolini. The... Continue →
On this date in 1996, Congress passed a bill authorizing the creation of 500,000 Black Revolutionary War Patriots Commemorative coins.
On this day in 1777, African Americans Replaced Reluctant Whites as, losses on the field of battle and rising White desertions reduced the... Continue →
On this date in 1895, W.D. Davis patented an improved riding saddle. Davis invented his saddle while serving as a buffalo soldier, African American... Continue →
On this date in 1775, Council of general officers decided to bar slaves and free Blacks from Continental Army.
On this date in 1940, the White House released a statement which said that government "policy is not to intermingle colored and white enlisted... Continue →
On this date in 1814, General Jackson Reneges On His Promise: General Jackson, on order to prepare to meet Packenham, the British General, in the... Continue →
ON this date in 1972, 46 Black and white sailors injured in race riot on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk of North Vietnam.
On this date in 1926, First Black naval aviator, Jesse Leroy Brown was born.
On this date in 1974, National Guard mobilized to restore order in Boston school busing crisis.
ON this date in 1940, Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. named the first Black general in the regular army.
ON this date in 1859, John Brown attacked Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with thirteen white men and five Blacks. Two of the five Blacks were killed, two... Continue →
On this date in 1956, Mae C. Jemison was born the youngest of three children of Charlie and Dorothy Jemison, a maintenance worker and schoolteacher.... Continue →
On this date in 1983, Grenada's U.S. educated Prime Minister Maurice Bishop killed in a military coup.
On this date in 1872, John H Conyers becomes the first African American to enter the US Naval Academy.
On this date in 1775, Continental Congress approved resolution barring African Americans from the army. Although, throughout the war, Washington, the... Continue →
On this date in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. American Blacks held mass meetings of protest and raised funds for the Ethiopian defenders.
On this date in 1940, Benjamin O Davis becomes the first Black general in US Army.
On this date in 1892, Lincoln F. Brown patents Bridle bit. Patent No. 484,994
On this date in 1876, President sent federal troops to South Carolina.
On this date in 1954, B.O. Davis Jr. became the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force.
On this date in 1862, First Kansas Colored Volunteers repulsed and drove off superior force of rebels at Island Mound, Missouri. This was the first... Continue →
On this dated in 1954, Defense Department announced elimination of all segregated regiments in the armed forces.
On this date in 1970, National Guard mobilized in Henderson, N.C., due to riots.
ON this date in 1917, Emmett J. Scott, former secretary to Booker T. Washington, was appointed special assistant to the Secretary of War. His role... Continue →
On this date in 1906, President Roosevelt ordered discharge of three companies of Twenty-fifth Regiment for alleged involvement in the Brownsville... Continue →
During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Doris "Dorie" Miller, a Mess Attendant Third Class in the U.S. Navy, displayed extraordinary bravery.... Continue →
On November 7, 1916, Colonel Charles Young was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP for his outstanding military service and leadership in... Continue →
On November 7, 1775, Lord Dunmore's Proclamation was issued, marking a significant moment in Black history during the American Revolution. ? Lord... Continue →
Arkansas Governor Powell Clayton declared martial law in ten counties due to widespread racial violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan during the... Continue →
On this day, the armistice was signed, ending World War I. Official U.S. military records show that approximately 370,000 African American soldiers... Continue →
In the early months of the American Revolutionary War, General George Washington, under pressure from Southern slaveholding interests, issued an... Continue →
On November 16, 1972, a tragic incident unfolded at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Student protests concerning the university's... Continue →
Colonel Frederick D. Gregory, a U.S. Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut, became the first African American to command a space mission when he led... Continue →
Guion S. Bluford Jr. was born on November 22, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A decorated Air Force pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA... Continue →
Stephen Atkins Swails (1832–1900) was a notable African American figure during the Reconstruction era. After serving with distinction in the 54th... Continue →
Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first African American to achieve the rank of general in the U.S. Army, died at age 93 in Chicago. Commissioned as an... Continue →
On this day, federal troops withdrew from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, after nearly two months of protecting the Little Rock Nine... Continue →
James Robinson, an enslaved African American who became a decorated soldier in the Revolutionary War, was born on this day in 1753. He fought... Continue →
On this date, the Continental Congress moved to officially allow the enlistment of Black men—both free and enslaved—into the American Army during... Continue →
The Twenty-Fifth Corps was officially established within the Union Army of the James, becoming the largest all-Black unit in the history of the U.S.... Continue →
On this day, General George Washington delivered his emotional farewell address to his officers of the Continental Army at Fraunces Tavern in New... Continue →
In response to post–World War II racial violence, including lynchings and mob attacks on Black veterans and civilians, President Harry S. Truman... Continue →
Charity Adams Earley was born in Kittrell, North Carolina. In 1942, she became the first African American woman to be commissioned as an officer in... Continue →
Salem Poor, a formerly enslaved Black man and soldier in the American Revolutionary War, was recognized by 14 officers for his extraordinary bravery... Continue →
Sergeant Thomas Shaw, a member of the 9th Cavalry Regiment—one of the original Buffalo Soldier units—was awarded the Medal of Honor for his... Continue →
Doris “Dorie” Miller, a mess attendant from Waco, Texas, displayed extraordinary bravery during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while serving... Continue →
On December 10, 1864, the 5th and 6th United States Colored Cavalry (USCC) Regiments commenced their participation in Stoneman's Raid into... Continue →
On this day, 13 African American soldiers of the 24th Infantry Regiment were executed by hanging at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, without the chance to... Continue →
On December 26, 1944, Harriet Ida Pickens and Frances Eliza Wills became the first African American women commissioned as officers in the U.S. Navy's... Continue →
Under increasing pressure and facing troop shortages, General George Washington reversed a previous policy and allowed free Black men to enlist in... Continue →
In one of the decisive battles of the American Civil War, two brigades of United States Colored Troops (USCT) played a crucial role in defeating... Continue →
On December 15, 1934, William Taylor Burwell Williams was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP for his exceptional contributions to education.... Continue →
Deborah Sampson Gannett, born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts, was a remarkable figure in American history. She is best known for... Continue →
On this day, Queen Nzinga (also spelled Nzingha or Njinga), the legendary ruler of Ndongo and Matamba in present-day Angola, passed away. Known as... Continue →
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of over 120,000 Japanese... Continue →
Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first African American to become a General in the U.S. Army, was born in Washington, D.C. on this day. His military career... Continue →
By the end of the Civil War, nearly one out of every four sailors in the Union Navy was Black. Out of 118,044 Union naval personnel, 29,511 were... Continue →
Although this date precedes the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865), it's often cited in historical summaries to highlight the eventual scale of Black... Continue →
On this day in 1863, Robert Blake, serving as a powder boy aboard the USS Marblehead, became the first Black American awarded the Naval Medal of... Continue →
During the Second Seminole War, a combined force of Seminole Indians and Black Seminoles was defeated by American troops at the Battle of Okeechobee... Continue →
On this day, Karen Farmer broke racial barriers by becoming the first African American admitted to the Daughters of the American Revolution. She... Continue →
Alarmed by the potential impact of the British Governor Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation—which offered freedom to enslaved people who joined British... Continue →
© 2025 KnowThyHistory.com. Know Thy History