Category: Males

28May

May 28 1885- Horace King

GM – FBF – Happy Memorial Day, Horace King did a lot of things during his lifetime but will be rememberd as a builder of bridegs. Enjoy!

Remember – I loved to build bridges in order for the every day person could have an easier travel. – Horace King

Today in our History – May 28, 1885 – Horace King dies after leaving a great mark on Alabama, Georgia’s history.

Horace King, born a slave on September 8, 1807 in Chesterfield District, South Carolina, was a successful bridge architect and builder in West Georgia, Northern Alabama and northeast Georgia in the period between the 1830s and 1870s. King worked for his master, John Godwin who owned a successful construction business. Although King was a slave, Godwin treated him as a valued employee and eventually gave him considerable influence over his business. Horace King supervised many of Godwin’s business activities including the management of construction sites. In 1832, for example, King led a construction crew in building Moore’s Bridge, the first bridge crossing the lower Chattahoochee River in northwest Georgia. Later in the decade, Godwin and King constructed some of the largest bridges in Georgia, Alabama, and Northeastern Mississippi. By the 1840s King designed and supervised construction of major bridges at Wetumpka, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi without Godwin’s supervision. Godwin issued five year warranties on his bridges because of his confidence in King’s high quality work.

In 1839, Horace King married Frances Thomas, a free African American woman. The couple had had four boys and one girl. The King children eventually joined their father at working on various construction projects. In addition to building bridges, King constructed homes and government buildings for Godwin’s construction company. In 1841, King supervised the construction of the Russell County Courthouse in Alabama. Despite the success of the company in attracting work, Godwin nonetheless fell into debt. King was emancipated by Godwin on February 3, 1846 to avoid his seizure by creditors. King continued to work for Godwin’s construction company and when his former owner died in 1859, King assumed controlled of Godwin’s business.

During the Civil War, King continued to work on construction projects usually for the Confederacy including a building for the Confederate navy near Columbus, Georgia. Confederate officials also forced King to block several waterways to prevent Union access to strategic points in Georgia and Alabama.

In 1864 Frances Thomas King died. Immediately after the Civil War ended King married Sarah Jane Jones McManus. Also after the war King began to prosper as he worked on the reconstruction of bridges, textile mills, cotton warehouses and public buildings destroyed during the conflict. After passing down the family business to his son, John Thomas King, Horace King was elected as a Republican to the Alabama House of Representatives, serving from 1870 to 1874.

Horace King died on May 28, 1885 in LaGrange, Georgia. Reserach more about this great American and share with your babies, Make it a champion day!

25May

May 25 1938- Otis Frank Boykin

GM-FBF- The creator has blessed us with fine Individuals who have the skill to teach and Invent Ideas that can help the human race, today you will read about another. Enjoy!

Remember – “The difference between genius and stupidity is, genius has its limits.” – Otis Frank Boykin

Today in our History – May 25, 1938 – Otis Frank Boykin, graduates from Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, TX.

The inventor Otis Frank Boykin, known for inventing the wire precision resistor, was born on August 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas. Boykin’s mother, Sarah Boykin, worked as a maid before dying in 1921 before Boykin’s first birthday. Boykin’s father, Walter Boykin, worked as a carpenter and later became a minister.
In 1934, Boykin entered Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, later graduating in 1938 as valedictorian of his class. Following high school, Boykin began college at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, simultaneously working at an aerospace laboratory in Nashville as a laboratory assistant testing automatic controls for aircraft.

After graduating from Fisk in 1941, Boykin began working as a lab assistant for Majestic Radio and TV Corporation, in Chicago, Illinois, eventually rising to the rank of supervisor. In 1944, Boykin began working for the P.J. Nilsen Research Laboratory. In 1946 Boykin began graduate studies at Illinois Institute of Technology but dropped out within a year because his family could no longer financially assist Boykin with his tuition. Beginning in 1946 he briefly ran his own company, Boykin-Fruth, Inc., and began working on various inventions.

Otis Frank Boykin earned his first patent in 1959. He developed the wire precision resistor which enabled manufacturers to accurately designate a value of resistance for an individual piece of wire in electronic equipment. Two years later, in 1961, Boykin earned a patent for an improved version of this concept, an inexpensive and easily producible electrical resistor model with the ability to “withstand extreme accelerations and shocked and great temperature changes without change or breakage of the fine resistance wire or other detrimental effects.”

Boykin’s invention significantly reduced the cost of production of hundreds of electronic devices while making them much more reliable than previously possible. The transistor radio was one of the many devices affected by his work. Other applications of Boykin’s invention included guided missiles, televisions, and IBM computers. Additionally, Boykin’s device would enable the development of the control unit for the artificial heart pacemaker, a device created to produce electrical shocks to the heart to maintain a healthy heart rate.

Boykin created the electrical capacitator in 1965 and an electrical resistance capacitor in 1967 as well as a number of consumer products ranging from a burglar-proof cash register to a chemical air filter. In all, Boykin patented 26 electronic devices over the course of his career.

Otis Frank Boykin died in Chicago of heart failure on March 13, 1982 at the age of 61. Research more about Black Inventors and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

23May

May 23 1940- Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr

GM – FBF – Today’s spotlight is on a boy /man who’s was called – The “negro genius” in the media. Enjoy!

Remember – “One day I will fly to the moon with math.” – Dr. Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr.

Today in our History – May 23, 1940 – At 17 received a PHD. from The University of Chicago. Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr.(November 27, 1923 – May 12, 2011)

In 1940 Wilkins completed his B.Sc. in math. In order to improve his rapport with the nuclear engineers reporting to him, Wilkins later received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from New York University in 1982 and 2001, thus earning five science degrees during his life.

After initially failing to secure a research position at his alma mater in Chicago, Wilkins taught mathematics from 1943 to 1944 at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1944 he returned to the University of Chicago where he served first as an associate mathematical physicist and then as a physicist in its Metallurgical Laboratory, as part of the Manhattan Project. Working under the direction of Arthur Holly Compton and Enrico Fermi, Wilkins researched the extraction of fissionable nuclear materials, but was not told of the research group’s ultimate goal until after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Wilkins was the codiscoverer or discoverer of a number of phenomena in physics such as the Wilkins Effect, plus the Wigner-Wilkins and Wilkins Spectra.

When Wilkins’s team was about to be transferred to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (known at the time as site “X”), due to the Jim Crow laws of the Southern United States, Wilkins would have been prevented from working there. When Edward Teller was informed about this, he wrote a letter on September 18, 1944 to Harold Urey (who was the director of war research at Columbia at the time) of Wilkins’s abilities, informing him about the problem of Wilkins’s race, and recommending his services for a new position. As Teller explained:

Knowing that men of high qualifications are scarce these days, I thought that it might be useful that I suggest a capable person for this job. Mr. Wilkins in Wigner’s group at the Metallurgical Laboratory has been doing, according to Wigner, excellent work. He is a colored man and since Wigner’s group is moving to “X” it is not possible for him to continue work with that group. I think that it might be a good idea to secure his services for our work.

Wilkins then continued to teach mathematics and conduct significant research in neutron absorption with physicist Eugene Wigner, including the development of its mathematical models. He would also later help design and develop nuclear reactors for electrical power generation, becoming part owner of one such company,

In 1970 Wilkins went on to serve Howard University as its distinguished professor of Applied Mathematical Physics and also founded the university’s new PhD program in mathematics. During his tenure at Howard he undertook a sabbatical position as a visiting scientist at Argonne National Laboratory from 1976 to 1977.

From 1974 to 1975 Wilkins served as president of the American Nuclear Society and in 1976 became the second African American to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

From 1990 Wilkins lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia as a Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics at Clark Atlanta University, and retired again for his last time in 2003.

Throughout his years of research Wilkins published more than 100 papers on a variety of subjects, including differential geometry, linear differential equations, integrals, nuclear engineering, gamma radiation shielding and optics, garnering numerous professional and scientific awards along the way.

Wilkins had two children with his first wife Gloria Louise Steward (d.1980) whom he married in June 1947, and subsequently married Maxine G. Malone in 1984. He was married a third time to Vera Wood Anderson in Chicago in September 2003. He had a daughter, Sharon, and a son, Wilkins, III during his first marriage.

J Ernest Wilkins Sr. was an equally notable figure, but in different spheres. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor in 1954 by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and thus became the first African American to hold a sub-cabinet position in the United States Government. One of Wilkins’ grandfathers was also notable for founding St. Mark’s Methodist Church in New York City.

In 2010 a niece of Wilkins, Carolyn Marie Wilkins, Professor of Music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, wrote of Wilkins’ father and her family more generally in her biography Damn Near White: An African American Family’s Rise from Slavery to Bittersweet Success.

Wilkins died on May 1, 2011 in Fountain Hills, Arizona. He was survived by his two children, Sharon Wilkins Hill and J. Ernest Wilkins III, plus three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery, Cave Creek, Arizona on May 5. Research more Black Mathmatician’s and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

21May

May 21 1969- Willie Ernest Grimes

GM – FBF – Law and Order was at low on this HBSU Campus!

Remember – The streets looked like a war zone – Willie Ernest Grimes

Today in our History – May 21, 1969 – Police and National Guardsmen fired on North Carolina A&T Campus.

Willie Ernest Grimes was born in Winterville, North Carolina, a rural eastern town in Pitt County just outside Greenville. He grew up in a close knit family with his four siblings. Willie and his brother, George, who was four years younger, were the two youngest children and were especially close. His parents, Joe and Ella, were farmers.

Half the teachers at the high school Willie attended were A&T grads; therefore, it seemed like a natural decision for him to attend college there. Willie was known as a friendly and “good guy” among his classmates on campus. He worked part time and joined the Pershing Rifles, an Army ROTC fraternity.

In April 1969, the death of their grandfather brought the five Grimes’ siblings together. Although this was a sad occasion, Willie enjoyed being with his family and loved the home cooked meals that were prepared while he was there. He wondered when would he get home cooking like this again. When it was time for him to leave to go back to school, Willie told his family, “I’ll see you later” because his father always told him not to say goodbye.

On Wednesday night, May 21, 1969 Willie called home to tell his folks he had cashed his income tax refund check; his dad said that he would pick him up that week-end to take him home because the spring semester was nearly over. Later that night, he talked with his friends about the chaos taking place on A&T’s campus.

Three weeks earlier, at nearby Dudley High School, protests had erupted because of the results of a student council election. Claude Barnes, a junior at Dudley, had spoken out against the differences in the segregated schools and other issues of inequality and was considered a militant by Dudley High School administrators. By this time, student council elections had rolled around and because of his outspokenness, the administrators refused to let his name appear on the student council ballot but students wrote it in anyway which resulted in the win by Barnes. This victory was declared illegal by administrators causing Barnes and four of his friends to walk out of school and picket in protest. The next day nine students walked out.

Barnes has said he thinks the protest would have run its course but school authorities called the police which encouraged others to join the protest and on May 16, nearly four hundred students boycotted classes. Leaders in the African American community had asked school authorities to recognize Barnes’ election win; however, they would not.

On May 19, protests had exploded into violence and after two days, the violence got worse as police fired tear gas to disperse students as they threw rocks at the building where a representative from the schools’ central administration had set up an office. The hostilities spread to A&T’s campus where hundreds of N.C. A&T and Dudley High School students, including Barnes, were tear-gassed and beaten and/or arrested. Gunfire erupted between police and North Carolina National Guard troops on one side and people on the A&T campus on the other.

Willie and his friends decided to walk to Summit Avenue, less than a mile away, to buy food at a local fast food restaurant. They left Scott Hall to walk across campus. As they neared the edge of campus, gunshots were fired and Willie was hit near Carver Hall on A&T’s campus. Witnesses said someone fired on him from a car. Others said the shots came from an unmarked police car which was emphatically denied by the police. In the early hours on May 22, a speeding car carried Willie to Moses Cone Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival at 1:30 a.m. It was concluded that he died within fifteen to twenty minutes from a bullet that was lodged in the base of his brain.

Joe Grimes went to Greensboro the next morning and took Willie’s body back to Winterville.

The funeral of Willie Ernest Grimes, a twenty-year-old North Carolina A&T State University sophomore was attended by two thousand people, including many A&T students who came to pay their respects. The funeral was held at his high school to acommodate all who came. Grimes’ killing and the shootings of five police officers and two other students have never been solved.

Willie Grimes was described as “a studious young man… neither a militant nor an activist”. A memorial in his honor is located at the Memorial Student Union on the campus of A&T. Ella Grimes, Willie’s mother, and his sister, Gloria, still live in Winterville. Willie’s brother, George, is an A&T graduate. Like his brother, George joined the Army ROTC and pledged the Pershing Rifles fraternity. Make it a champion day!

17May

May 17 1897- Edward William Anderson

GM – FBF – A story about a black man and his reaction to unfair treatment of blacks in Southern California.

Remember – “We as a people and me as a black man, will not take this discrimination any more.” – Edward William Anderson

Today in our History – May 17, 1897 – Edward William Anderson and his wife Mary, could not get floor seats at the
famous Fisher Opera House in San Diego, CA.

Entrepreneur, political organizer, and civilian pioneer, Edward William Anderson was born the son of former slaves, Wyatt and Fannie Anderson, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, September 26, 1871. He arrived in San Diego, California, in the mid-1890s with just $1.25 in his pocket but was confident in his ability to thrive as a business owner. His first successful venture was as owner, at age twenty-five, of IXL (I Excel) Laundry which grew to become the largest steam laundry in the region with thirty-five employees.

Anderson unwittingly involved himself in the struggle for equal rights for people of color in California when on May 17, 1897, he and his wife, Mary, arrived with tickets in hand to claim their seats for a performance of Around the World in Eighty Days at the city’s premier entertainment venue, the elegant Fisher Opera House. Instead of being ushered to the choice seats near the orchestra, the theater manager, who redirected him to the balcony, said, “I do not allow colored people on that floor.” Anderson refused the balcony seats, accepted a refund of the tickets, and a week later filed a lawsuit for $299 in damages. Due mainly to a recently enacted provision of the state’s civil rights law, Anderson prevailed and was awarded $50. The judgment was reversed on appeal and further legal action by Anderson did not succeed; however, his challenge set legal precedent as the first racial discrimination court case of its kind in Southern California.

Over the next four decades, Anderson became the most prosperous black businessman in San Diego County. In 1910 he acquired one hundred and sixty acres along the California-Mexico border and quickly resold it at a 50 percent mark-up. Next, he bought his uncle’s grocery store and soon after launched Economy Waste Paper Company and the even more prosperous San Diego Rubbish & Garbage Company which held an exclusive seven-year city contract. After winning another garbage disposal contract with the nearby city of Coronado, Anderson used some of the gathered refuse to feed hogs on his adjacent Silver Strand Ranch where he owned a meat-packing operation and Anderson Meat Market which sold its own special sausage brand. His porkers won prizes at fairs throughout the state, earning him the nickname “Hog King of San Diego.” In 1943 Anderson launched Anderson Mortuary (later Anderson-Ragsdale Mortuary) which continues to serve the community.

Anderson’s social activism continued with his growing business success. He remained a central figure in the quest for equal rights, co-founding the San Diego branch of the NAACP in 1919 and serving three terms as its president between 1931 and 1943. He also assisted the branch in various official capacities and as a confidential advisor. A Prince Hall Mason, he also was president of the Negro Business League, the Independent Voters League, and the Douglass League as well as treasurer of the Negro Civic League and a member of the Elks and the San Diego Republican Central Committee.

Edward W. Anderson died August 11, 1953, in San Diego and buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Mary, and a sister, Rosa Little. I could not find many pictures of him or his wife. Research more about how blacks reacted to discrimination and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

16May

May 16 1917- Eugene Jacques Bullard

GM – FBF – The “Great War” , World War I America had no black flying airmen but in World War II we will hear of the Tuskegee Airmen. Read the story of an American who flew a plane long before America would let blacks fly. Enjoy!

Remember – “Tout le sang qui coule rouge; All blood is red.”

Today in our History – May 16, 1917 – The first black combat pilot twenty-four years before the first Tuskegee Airmen took flight. – Eugene Jacques Bullard

Eugene Jacques Bullard (1895 – 1961) was born October 9, 1895, in Columbus, GA as the seventh out of ten total children born to William Octave Bullard and Josephine “Yokalee” Thomas. Eugene’s father was originally from Martinique but William arrived in the United States of America as a slave when his owners settled here after fleeing Haiti during the French Revolution. His mother, Josephine, was a Creek Native American. Bullard is considered to be the first African-American military pilot to fly in combat, and the only African-American pilot in World War I. Ironically, he never flew for the United States.

In 1906, at the age of 11, Bullard ran away craving adventure. He was also traumatized by his dad’s near lynching experience by a mob of drunken white men who had found out that Mr. Bullard hit a white man in self-defense. Young Eugene took off shortly after this incident and for the next six years, he wandered the South in search of freedom.

In 1912 he stowed away on the Marta Russ, a German freighter bound for Hamburg, and ended up in Aberdeen, Scotland. From there he made his way to London, where he worked as a boxer and slapstick performer in an African American entertainment troupe. In 1913, Bullard went to France for a boxing match. Settling in Paris, he became so comfortable with French customs that he decided to make a home there. He later wrote, “… it seemed to me that French democracy influenced the minds of both black and white Americans there and helped us all act like brothers.” In early October 1914, at the age of 19, Bullard joined the French Foreign Legion, eager to fight in World War I against the Central Powers. About a year later he was transferred to the French army’s 170th Infantry, known as the “Swallows of Death,” after the decimation of his Foreign Legion unit. Bullard saw action on the western front, first as a foot soldier, then as a machine gunner, surviving a number of near death moments. Through the Battle of Champagne, Battle of the Somme, and the Battle of Verdun; Eugene lost almost all his teeth, survived a hole in his thigh from shrapnel and a bloody bombing at the village of Fleury. For his gallantry, the French government awarded Bullard the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) in June 1916 at a ceremony Lyon.

Although fit with new dentures and recovered from his leg wound, Eugene was deemed no longer fit to be a foot soldier. Yet he was determined to get back into the action. After seven months of training, he became an aircraft gunner in the French air force’s Lafayette Flying Corps, an all-American volunteer outfit. Before long, Bullard, now a corporal, set his sights on the cockpit. Having mastered several maneuvers, Eugene earned his wings on May 16 1917, becoming the first black combat pilot twenty-four years before the first Tuskegee Airmen took flight.

By war’s end in November 1918, Bullard had flown on twenty missions and was credited with shooting down at least one enemy plane. Legend has it that he painted a bleeding heart on the fuselage of his airplane and below it wrote, “Tout le Sang qui coule est rouge!” (All blood runs red!). During his lifetime, Eugene Ballard was awarded fifteen French war medals. Including the Knight of the Légion d’honneur, Médaille Militaire, Croix de Guerre, Volunteer’s Cross (Croix du combattant volontaire), Wounded Insignia, World War I Commemorative Medal, World War I Victory Medal, Freedom Medal, and the World War II Commemorative Medal.

After being discharged from the Armed Forces Eugene Bullard became part owner of his own nightclub, Le Grand Duc at 52 rue Pigalle, in France. His club was one of the most popular and famous spots for singers and musicians at the time. Luminaries such as the Prince of Wales, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and England’s Prince of Wales were seen in his establishment. While working the nightclub scene he also became friends with Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, and Langston Hughes.

During the second World War Eugene Bullard agreed to serve France again as a spy. He was very successful at this endeavor because the Germans didn’t think that African Americans were capable of understanding German and Eugene spoke English, German and French. While serving in this capacity he occasionally worked with the famous French spy Cleopatra Terrier.

Despite being named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in New York City during a lavish ceremony, being embraced by President-General Charles de Gaulle of France in 1960 when he visited the USA and labeled a “True French Hero,” helping to relight the Eternal Flame of the Tomb of the Unknown French Soldier at the request of France, and being buried with full honors by the Federation of French War Officers, Eugene Bullard was never recognized in the United States for any of his achievements. It wasn’t until 1994 that the United States Air Force recognized him and posthumously commissioned him a Second Lieutenant.

Eugene Bullard married a French Countess and had one son (died of double pneumonia) and two daughters. He passed on October 12, 1961, from stomach cancer in New York City. He is currently interred in the French War Veterans’ section of Flushing Cemetery in the New York City borough of Queens. Research more about blacks in Aveation and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

11May

May 11 1933- Louis Eugene Wolcott

GM – FBF – I was young boy when I went to Washington, D.C. and heard the words of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and the “I have a Dream” speach with over 250,000 people. I was grown man when I went to Washington, D.C. to hear Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Million Man March.

Remember – “A woman will test you to see if you are what you say you are. Any woman that you fall in love with: She loves you too, but she’s going to try you; that’s her nature. She has to know that she can depend on you; she has to know that you will stand up for her. She has to know that you will back up the children that she brings in the world for us.” – Louis Farrakhan

Today in our History – May 11, 1933 – Louis Eugene Wolcott was born.

Louis Farrakhan, born as Louis Eugene Wolcott, is a Muslim American, known most popularly as a leader of the Islamic organization Nation of Islam (NOI). He was born on May 11, 1933 in The Bronx, New York. Farrakhan’s family had a difficult life, as he never knew his biological father and the family moved around a lot while the youngster was growing up. At age 6, he began receiving training for the violin. By age 13, he was so skilled with the instrument that he managed to play with famous orchestras such as the Boston College Orchestra. He continued to win prizes on a regular basis for his talent, and later enrolled in Boston Latin School and Winston-Salem Teachers College.

Farrakhan had some popular hits in his short lived musical career, performing under the name ‘The Charmer’. On tour in Chicago in 1955, he first came in contact with the teachings of NOI through saxophonist Rodney Smith. Having attended an address by then NOI leader Elijah Muhammad, Farrakhan instantly became inspired by his teachings and aspired to join the group. After passing the necessary criteria for becoming an NOI member, he was awarded the customary ‘X’ placeholder, which comes in place of most African Americans’ European slave prescribed surnames. Louis X’s name then changed to Louis Farrakhan after Muhammad replaced it sometime in the future.

Now a firm member of the NOI, Louis Farrakhan was keen on rising through the ranks quickly. He worked closely with Malcolm X who was then a minister at the Temple of Islam in Boston. Farrakhan continued to be inspired and mentored by Malcolm X, even serving as his assistant minister. After the assassination of Malcolm X, Farrakhan was appointed as national spokesman or national representative of the NOI, as well as minister of Harlem Mosque. After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, a lot of things changed for NOI, from it’s organizational structure to the very core of it’s message. Taking on a more liberal standpoint and including inter-religious cooperation and dialogue, Warith Muhammad changed the very foundation of the NOI by going as far as changing it’s name to American Society of Muslims. Under Warith Deen Muhammad’s leadership, Farrakhan was a Sunni Imam for almost 4 years until 1978 when he decided to leave and create his own version of what he believed NOI stood for.

One of his most remarkable achievements and perhaps what he often remembered for is the Million Man March Farrakhan organized in 1995 in Washington D.C. Here he hoped to encourage the African Americans to re-imagine and redefine their roles and commitments to their families. The event was organized with the aid of many different civil rights groups and received vast publicity. While the actual numbers of the turnout are disputed, Farrakhan adamantly pointed out that the figure was close to his actual aim. Amongst some of the speakers at the event included Maya Angelou; Rosa Parks; Martin Luther King III, Cornel West, Jesse Jackson. 10 years later in 2005, Farrakhan marked the 10th anniversary of this momentous day by organizing the Million More Movement with the aid of other acknowledged Black movement activists such as Malik Zulu Shabazz, the activist Al Sharpton.

In recent years, Louis Farrakhan has suffered a number of health problems, including peptic ulcers, abdominal surgeries and even a heart attack in December of 2013. Research more about the Nation of Islam and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

06May

May 6 1888- Matthew A. Cherry

GM – FBF – Who in our time have not seen, sat in or rode a tricycle, protection for the front of a street car is the forrunner to an automobile fender. Give thanks to Mr. Matthew A. Cherry. Enjoy!

Remember – “Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.” – Matthew A. Cherry

Today in our History – May 6,1888 – A black man invents the tricycle!

Matthew A. Cherry was a African American Inventor who created several devices for the transportation industry, including the velocipede, the tricycle and the street car fender.

The velocipede consisted of a metal seat frame upon which were attached two or three wheels which allowed someone sitting on the seat to propel themselves forward at considerable speeds by moving their feet along the ground in a fast walking or running motion. Cherry’s model of the velocipede greatly improved upon other similar devices, and over time evolved into the tricycle and the bicycle.

In May 1888 Cherry received a patent for creating the tricycle, a three wheeled vehicle that is used today mostly by pre-schoolers although it is used for many other purposes in different countries. In Asia and Africa tricycles are used for commercial transportation and deliveries, while in the USA and Canada they are also used extensively for shopping and exercise.

After receiving the patent for the tricycle, Cherry set out to solve a problem with streetcars.

At the time, whenever the front of a streetcar accidentally collided with another object, the streetcar was severely damaged, often having to be totally replaced, so he invented the street car fender – a piece of metal that was attached to the front of the street car and acted as a shock absorber which diminished the impact of an accident and added safety for passengers and employees.

Cherry received a patent for the street car fender on January 1, 1895 and the device has been modified through the years and is now used on almost every transportation device. Research more about African American Inventors and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

05May

May 5 1908- Clinton E. Knox

GM – FBF – Most of the Images and articles about Knox is still not declasified yet, Wich leads me to what former President Eisenhower warned of – “American citizens to be vigilant in monitoring the military-industrial complex.” – Read and Understand.

Remember – For the United States to be a global leader, we have to have a very tight relationship with Europe. And we’ve held that relationship since 1949 when we established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. NATO is the bond. It’s a security bond. -Clinton Everett

Today in our History – May 5,1908 – A Bloack Man in charge of NATO.

Clinton Everett Knox was the first African American secretary to the United States Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and former United States Ambassador to the countries of Dahomey (Benin) and Haiti.
Clinton E. Knox was born May 5, 1908, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of five children born to Estella Briggs Knox and William J. Knox Sr. Knox’s older brother, William J. Knox, Jr., was one of the scientists who helped develop the atomic bomb during World War II. His other older brother, Dr. Lawrence Howland Knox, was a noted chemist.

Clinton Knox attended the elementary and secondary schools of New Bedford, graduating from New Bedford High School in 1926. Knox received his A.B. degree in 1930 from Williams College and his M.A. degree from Brown University in 1931. Knox was as an instructor at Morgan State College in Baltimore, Maryland, teaching history and international relations between 1931 and 1936 and again between 1939 and 1943. During the intervening years he attended Harvard University where he received his Ph.D. in European history in 1940. Knox was the Bayard-Cutting Fellow at Harvard (1938-1939).

Knox served in the United States Army during World War II (1943-1945) as a research analyst in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Following the war, he worked for the Department of State beginning in 1945 and would remain there for 28 years until his retirement in 1973. Knox initially served as a departmental officer. He became a member of the Foreign Service of the United States in 1954 and first served abroad in 1957 as the first African American secretary to the United States Mission to NATO. While with NATO he held posts in France and Honduras.

Knox became the Ambassador to the West African Republic of Dahomey (now the country of Benin), serving in this capacity for five years (1964-1969). Following his work in Africa, Knox served as Ambassador to Haiti (1969-1973), under the regime of Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier and later his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier. In 1973, while serving as Ambassador to Haiti, Knox was kidnapped at gunpoint by unknown assailants who demanded the release of 35 political prisoners and cash. After 17 hours as a hostage, the kidnappers released Knox in exchange for 12 prisoners and $70,000. Knox returned to the United States shortly afterwards and retired at the age of 65.

Clinton E. Knox died on October 14, 1980, in Silver Springs, Maryland. Research more about NATO and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

30Apr

April 30, 1926- Elijah McCoy

GM – FBF – Although the name Elijah McCoy may be unknown to most people, the enormity of his ingenuity and the quality of his inventions have created a level of distinction which bears his name. One of the most beloved Inventors in history, enjoy!

Remember – “So much time is wasted by trying to be better than others. Dream the impossible because dreams do come true. I am not a star, a star is nothing but a ball of gas. Going against the grain of society is the greatest thing in the world.” – Elijah McCoy

Today in our History – April 29, 1922 – Elijah and Mary McCoy Involved in an automobile accident and both suffered severe injuries.

Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada on May 2, 1844. His parents were George and Emillia McCoy, former slaves from Kentucky who escaped through the Underground Railroad. George joined the Canadian Army, fighting in the Rebel War and then raised his family as free Canadian citizens on a 160 acre homestead.

At an early age, Elijah showed a mechanical interest, often taking items apart and putting them back together again. Recognizing his keen abilities, George and Emillia saved enough money to send Elijah to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he could study mechanical engineering. After finishing his studies as a “master mechanic and engineer” he returned to the United States which had just seen the end of the Civil War – and the emergence of the “Emancipation Proclamation.”

Elijah moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan but was unable to find work as an engineer. He was thus forced to take on a position as a fireman\oilman on the Michigan Central Railroad. As a fireman, McCoy was responsible for shoveling coal onto fires which would help to produce steam that powered the locomotive. As an oilman, Elijah was responsible for ensuring that the train was well lubricated. After a few miles, the train would be forced to stop and he would have to walk alongside the train applying oil to the axles and bearings.

In an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of the train, McCoy set out to create a method of automating the task. In 1872 he developed a “lubricating cup” that could automatically drip oil when and where needed. He received a patent for the device later that year. The “lubricating cup” met with enormous success and orders for it came in from railroad companies all over the country. Other inventors attempted to sell their own versions of the device but most companies wanted the authentic device, requesting “the Real McCoy.”

In 1868, Elijah married Ann Elizabeth Stewart. Sadly, Elizabeth passed away just four years later. In 1873, McCoy married again, this time his bride was Mary Eleanor Delaney and the couple would eventually settle into Detroit, Michigan together for the next 50 years.

McCoy remained interested in continuing to perfect his invention and to create more. He thus sold some percentages of rights to his patent to finance building a workshop. He made continued improvements to the “lubricating cup.” The patent application described the it as a device which “provides for the continuous flow of oil on the gears and other moving parts of a machine in order to keep it lubricated properly and continuous and thereby do away with the necessity of shutting down the machine periodically.” The device would be adjusted and modified in order to apply it to different types of machinery. Versions of the cup would soon be used in steam engines, naval vessels, oil-drilling rigs, mining equipment, in factories and construction sites.

In 1916 McCoy created the graphite lubricator which allowed new superheater trains and devices to be oiled. In 1920, Elijah established the “Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company.” With his new company, he improved and sold the graphite lubricator as well as other inventions which came to him out of necessity. He developed and patented a portable ironing board after his wife expressed a need for an easier way of ironing clothes. When he desired an easier and faster way of watering his lawn, he created and patented the lawn sprinkler.

On April 29, 1922, Elijah and Mary were involved in an automobile accident and both suffered severe injuries. Mary would die from the injuries and Elijah’s health suffered for several years until he died in 1929. McCoy left behind a legacy of successful inventions which would benefit mankind for another century and his name would come to symbolize quality workmanship – the Real McCoy! Research more about black Inventors and share with your babies and make it a champion day!