The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is founded in Chicago, Illinois by civil rights activist James Leonard Farmer.

National business and professional sorority Eta Phi Beta is formed in Detroit, Michigan.

Radio Personality Richard Steele is born

Venture capitalist Herb Wilkins is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Honorable Edith Ingram is born on this date.

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, is born in Louisville, Kentucky. He will go on to become one of, if not the, greatest boxers of all time. He will win Olympic gold and win the heavyweight title.

Architect and educational administrator Harry Robinson III is born in Washington, D.C.

Medical School Educator Dr. Felton James Earls is born

Singer Florence LaRue is born.

Poet, essayist and entrepreneur Haki Madhubuti is born Don L. Lee in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Journalist & Author Charlayne Hunter-Gault is born

Fred Matthews III is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He will go on to become an executive with the YMCA.

Civil rights organizer Willie L. McCray is born on this date in Columbus, Georgia.

The first class of airmen at the Tuskegee Airbase graduate. The Tuskegee Airmen will go on to an illustrious career of victories in World War II.

Blues and Gospel singer Aretha Franklin was born on this date in Memphis, Tennessee. Aretha has won 18 Grammies and has been inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. She is known as the "Queen of Soul".

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joe Nathan Ballard was born on this date in Meeker, Louisiana.

Social worker Clinton E. Dye is born on this date in Atlanta, Georgia.

Educator Peyton Williams, Jr. was born on this date in Cochran, Georgia.

AKA executive Linda White is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

Banking executive Ed Williams is born in Chicago's South Side.

Musician and president of Columbia College of Chicago, Warrick Carter is born in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Activist and public policy advocate, Jacquelyne D. Grimshaw is born in Macon, Georgia.

Blues musician Taj Mahal was born on this date in New York City. Some of his albums include Giant Step, Happy Just to Be Like I Am, and the soundtrack to the film Sounder. He has recorded and performed with artists like Miles Davis, B.B. King, and Bob Marley.

Osteopathic Physician & Medical School Dean Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee is born.

Health care administrator Anthony Wagner is born on this date in Alton, Illinois.

Bernard W. Robinson becomes the first African American to earn a commission as an officer in the United States Navy when he becomes a Naval Reserve ensign.

Attorney and former U.S. Secretary of the Army, Togo D. West is born on this date in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Psychologist and professor Anne Ashmore-Hudson is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

Artist, Architect & Inventor Nathan Jones is born.

Clinical Social Worker & Civil Rights Activist 1901">Dorie Ladner is born.

Educator Donald L. Hense is born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri.

Foundation Executive Harriet Michel is born

Dancer Darlene Blackburn is born

Artist & Art Educator William T. Williams is born.

Massachusetts state representative Byron Rushing is born on this date in New York City.

Journlist and author Barbara Reynolds was born on this date in Columbus, Ohio.

Legendary singer, producer and actor Isaac Hayes is born in Covington, Tennessee.

International affairs expert Carole Henderson Tyson is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

Entertainment attorney and music industry executive Larkin Arnold, Jr. is born on this date in Kansas City, Missouri.

Community activist Renault Robinson is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Singer and dancer Lola Falana was born on this date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Frank Smith, Jr., head of the organization which created the African American Civil War Memorial, is born in Newnan, Georgia.

Singer & Actress Freda Payne is born

Minister & Social Activist 1805">Imagene Bigham Stewart is born.

Educator and foundation executive Badi Foster is born in Chicago, Illinois.

The U.S. Merchant Marine ship named after Booker T. Washington was launched on this date. It was the first U.S. oceangoing vessel named after an African American.

Environmental Chemist & Educator Bobby L. Wilson is born.

Founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, an a cappella choir, Bernice Johnson Reagon is born in Albany, Georgia.

John H. Johnson begins publishing Negro Digest, a periodical featuring orignal articles and news from wire reports.

Chicago politician William Dawson is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for the next twenty-seven years. Dawson supports issues relating to civil rights and blacks in federal employment and goes on to become the first black to chair a major committee, the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments.

Astronaut Guion S. Bluford, Jr. was born on this date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bluford was the first Black astronaut to go into outer space.

NASA Administrator Julian Earls is born

Rock and roll legend Jimi Hendrix was born on this date in Seattle, Washington.

Business Executive Kenneth L. Coleman is born.

Millionaire Reginald Francis Lewis was born on this date in East Baltimore, Maryland.

Telecommunications entrepreneur William Bonaparte, Jr. is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Aeronautical engineer, pilot and educator Dr. Alfred Brothers, Jr. is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Civil rights pioneer Carlotta Walls LaNier is born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Actress, Playwright & Singer S. Pearl Sharp is born

Distiniguished professor and international activist Harold Rogers is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

B. Herbert Martin is born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He will become a minister and activist who is perhaps best known for serving as Mayor Harold Washington's pastor.

Archivist Dorothy Jenkins Fields is born on this date in Miami, Florida.