April Black History Calendar
- Apr 1, 1950
Charles R. Drew , who developed techniques for processing and preserving blood, died.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 2, 1984
Georgetown coach John Thompson becomes first Black coach to win NCAA basketball tournament.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 3, 1826
Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day and the War”, born.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 4, 1968
Martin Luther King assassinated.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 5, 1951
Washington, D.C. Municipal Court of Appeals outlawed segregation in restaurants.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 6, 1909
Matthew A. Henson reaches the North Pole, 45 minutes before Commandeer Peary.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 7, 1885
Granville T. Woods patents apparatus for transmission of messages by electricity.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 8, 1974
Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 715 home run, surpassing Babe Ruth as the game’s all-time home-run leader.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 9, 1898
Paul Robeson , actor, singer, activist, born.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 10, 1947
Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson becomes first African American to play major league baseball.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 11, 1966
Emmett Ashford becomes first Black umpire in the major leagues.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 12, 1983
Harold Washington becomes first African American mayor of Chicago.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 13, 1950
Historian Carter G. Woodson , author of The Miseducation of the Negro, died.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 14, 1775
First abolitionist society in U.S. is founded in Philadelphia.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 15, 1964
Sidney Poitier becomes first Black to win Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 16, 1862
Slavery abolished in the District of Columbia.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 17, 1983
Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Color Purple.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 18, 1864
More than 200 Black Union troops massacred by Confederate forces at Ft. Pillow, Tennessee.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 19, 1972
Stationed in Germany, Major Gen. Frederic E. Davidson becomes first Black to lead an army division.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 20, 1894
Dr. Lloyd A. Hall , pioneering food chemist, born.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 21, 1966
Pct. Milton L. Olive III awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for valor in Vietnam.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 22, 1922
Jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus born.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 23, 1895
Clatonia Joaquin Dorticus patents photographic print wash.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 24, 1944
United Negro College Fund Incorporated.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 25, 1918
Ella Fitzgerald , “First Lady of Song”, born.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 26, 1888
Sarah Boone patents ironing board.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 27, 1968
Vincent Porter becomes first African American certified in plastic surgery.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 28, 1839
Cinque leads mutiny off the coast of Long Island, NY.
Search Library of Congress - Apr 29, 1899
Duke Ellington , jazz musician and composer, born. April 30 1952 – Dr. Louis T. Wright honored by American Cancer Society for his contributions to cancer research.
Search Library of Congress