The HistoryMakers

The first African American to solo-circumnavigate by going around the tip of Cape Horn, William Pinkney was born on September 15, 1935, in Chicago. Attending public schools in Chicago, Pinkney joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school in 1954.

After having served for eight years in the Navy, Pinkney became involved in the cosmetics industry, first as a freelance make-up artist, and in 1973 as a marketing manager for Revlon. In 1977, he became the director of marketing at John Prod, another cosmetics company. Going to work for the city of Chicago in 1980, Pinkney took a post as a public information officer with the Department of Human Services, where he retired in 1983.

Throughout this time, however, Pinkney's real passion was sailing. Having been active for more than thirty years sailing the Great Lakes and oceans, Pinkney decided to embark on a solo trip around the globe in 1990. His route took him around the dangerous tip of South America, considered to be some of the most treacherous waters in the world. Upon successfully realizing his dream, Pinkney was honored as the Chicago Yacht Club's Yachtsman of the Year in 1992, and later Chicago Magazine named him Chicagoan of the Year in 1999.

Combining his interest in sailing with his interest for history, particularly naval voyages of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Pinkney's next adventure was aboard the Freedom Schooner Amistad. In January 1999, Pinkney and his crew set out to retrace the Middle Passage slave trade routes. The purpose of the project is to educate people about the original Amistad, as well as about the slave trade and human rights. Pinkney teamed with PBS and several corporations to create a television special and bring teachers from across the country on board en route so that they could experience the trip firsthand.

Pinkney has also written a first-grade textbook, Captain Bill Pinkney's Journey, which appears in more than 5,000 schools across the country. He has been honored by senators, former President George H.W. Bush and foreign dignitaries for his dedication to education and his accomplishments. Pinkney is a trustee of Mystic Seaport, a museum devoted to America's history with the sea, and a director of the American Sail Training Association.

Pinkney and his wife, Migdalia, live in Connecticut.

Pinkney was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 8, 2003.