NBA basketball player and motivational speaker Bob Love is born in Dehli, Louisiana.

Entrepreneur Johnny Mack Brown is born in rural Alabama.

Accountant Frank Ross is born on the island of St. Kitts.

Religious and civic leader Barbara Williams-Skinner is born in Antioch, California.

Political activist and exceptional actor Paul Robeson is the first African American actor to play the title role in Shakespeare's Othello on Broadway. Robeson had previously played the role in London.

Famed scientist and former instructor at the Tuskegee Institute George Washington Carver passes away on this day.

Georgia Superior Court Judge John Allen is born in Columbus, Georgia.

Entrepreneur Willliam A. Clement is born.

Georgia State Court Judge Judge Brenda H. Cole is born

Olympic wrestler, NFL player and business man Robert Pickens is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Scholar of the African peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean Fannie Rushing is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Professor & Researcher Ronald E. Mickens is born.

Vietnam veteran and corporate executive Joseph Anderson was born on this date in Topeka, Kansas.

Politician & Activist 1929">Sala Udin is born.

Entrepreneur James G. Kaiser is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

George Benson, a famous jazz guitarist and student of Chet Atkins is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Corporate attorney Reynaldo Glover is born in Gary, Indiana.

University president H. Patrick Swygert is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Business Executive & Consultant Allene Roberts is born

Artist Howardena Pindell was born on this date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Artist, Art Educator & Curator Howardena Pindell is born.

Former Seattle Mayor Norman B. Rice is born.

Construction Company President John B. Cruz is born.

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) holds their first sit in to integrate Jack Spratt's Coffee Shop in Chicago, Illinois.

First Lady of Denver and former state representative Wilma Webb is born in Denver, Colorado.

Tony Award-winning actress and singer Leslie Uggams was born on this date in New York. Uggams is best known for role as "Kizzy" in the 1977 television mini-series Roots. Uggams' film credits include Black Girl and Sugar Hill.

Ruth Davis is born in Phoenix, Arizona. She will later be named a U.S. Ambassador and serve in positions around the globe.

Robert “Bobby” Sengstacke is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will become a successful photographer before returning to the family business to help run the Chicago Defender.

NFL All-Pro Halfback 1955">Gale Sayers was born on this date in Wichita, Kansas. Sayers was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1965, a 5-time All-Pro player, and led the NFC in rushing in 1966 and 1969. Sayers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

Football Player & Entrepreneur 1955">Gale Sayers is born.

Dentist and military officer Dr. Enrique Riggs is born in Panama City, Panama.

Artist, lecturer and entrepreneur Phoebe Beasley is born on this date in Cleveland, Ohio.

Poet, educator, and publisher Nikki Giovanni is born in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In the skies over Pantelleria, Sicily, the Tuskegee Airmen engage in combat with the enemy. Lieutenant Charles Dryden led the attack, and the battle was the first time in aviation history that Black pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps engaged in combat.

Retired Entrepreneur & Educator James Earnest Roberson is born.

Race riots in Detroit, Michigan, explode as a result of lack of jobs for African Americans in the defense industry and work stopages by whites when blacks did find work. Amidst rumors by both sides, rioting broke out late at night. Before it was brought under control by Federal troops, thirty-four people lost their lives.

The all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron of the Air Force sees combat for the first time. The 99th will have one of the most successful combat records of all fighter squadrons during the course of the war.

Businessman and civic leader Edwin Rigaud is born on this date in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Actor & Theatre Founder John Beasley is born.

President, Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation Leonard Blackshear is born on this date in Savannah, Georgia.

Alyce Faye Wattleton was born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri. She became the first Black director of Planned Parenthood.

The Honorable Sophia Hall, Circuit Court Judge, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Tennis Pro Arthur Ashe was born on this date in Richmond, Virginia. Ashe was the first Black man to win the tennis singles championship at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He was also the first and only Black man ranked number one in the world. Over his ten year pro career, he won three Grand Slam titles. He was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.

Telecommunications entrepreneur Emmitt J. McHenry is born in Forrest City, Arkansas.

George Washington Carver was honored with a national park monument on this date in Missouri. He became the first Black to be given such an honor.

Musician, composer, arranger, and Broadway producer Harold Wheeler was born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri.

Former pro golfer Calvin Peete is born on this date in Detroit, Michigan. Peete goes on to win twelve major PGA golf tournaments.

Small Business Administration Deputy Director Darlene McKinnon was born on this date in Baltimore, Maryland.

Songwriter Kenneth Gamble is born in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Honorable David Coar, a federal judge within the District Court of Illinois, is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Pioneering entrepreneur in the black hair-care industry Cornell McBride is born in Savannah, Georgia.

Public administrator Sharon Gist Gilliam is born on this date in Chicago, Illinois. She will go on to become Chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority.

Retired Colonel, U.S. Air Force Col. Roosevelt Lewis, Jr. is born.

Corporate executive George L. Knox, III was born on this date in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Bank President 1882">Alden J. McDonald is born.

Television executive and production company founder Don Jackson is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Corporate executive Bernard Kinsey is born in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Earl S. Richardson is born in Westover, Maryland. He will go on to becoming the president of Morgan State University.

Educator & Social Worker 1878">Donald Carpenter is born.

Corporate executive Ulysses Grant Ford III is born in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Artist Lorenzo Pace is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Artist Lorenzo Pace is born.

Activist H. Rap Brown was born on this date in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Brown joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)while attending Southern University. He became national director of SNCC in 1967 when Stokeley Carmichael left the organization.

Sociologist and author Joyce Ladner is born in Battles, Mississippi.

Archivist and educator Gwendolyn M. Patton is born on this date in Detroit, Michigan.

Singer and actor Paul Robeson performed in Shakespeare's Othello on this date in New York.

Jonetta B. Cole was born on this date in Jacksonville, Florida. Cole became the first woman president of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Darryl Andre Hill is born in Washington, D.C. He will break the color barrier as a collegiate athlete and become a successful businessman.

Tax Attorney, Educator & Author Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. is born.

Attorney, Educator & Author Gregory Howard Williams is born.

Dorie Miller, Navy mess cook decorated with the Naval Cross for bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor, is lost at sea after his new ship, the U.S.S. Liscome Bay was torpedoed.

Orthopedic Surgeon 1937">Dr. Carlton A. West is born.

Choreographer, dancer, actor and director Maurice Hines is born on this date in New York City. Hines received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for Uptown…It’s Hot!.

W.E.B. DuBois becomes the first African American admited to the National Institute of Arts and Letters.