Paul Lawrence Dunbar's first collection of poetry, Oak and Ivy is published.

Bessie Coleman, the first African American airplane pilot, is born on this day.

Blues singer and guitarist "Mississippi" John Hurt was born on this date in Teoc, Mississippi. Some of Hurt's songs include Since I've Laid My Burden Down, Moaning the Blues, and Hop Joint.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who had founded Provident Hospital to train other African American doctors and nurses, performed the first successful open heart surgery.

Sociologist and author Charles Johnson was born on this date in Bristol, Virginia. Johnson was the first president of Fisk University and published a few books including The Negro in American Civilization and Patterns of Negro Segregation.

Clement G. Morgan was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar to practice law on this date in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Morgan was the first Black to earn two Harvard degrees.

Black inventor Elbert Robinson patented his electric railway trolley on this date.

Inventor Granville T. Woods patented his electric railway conduit on this date.