July Black History Calendar
- Jul 1, 1889
Frederick Douglass named U.S. Minister to Haiti.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 2, 1872
Elijah McCoy patents his first self-lubricating locomotive engine. The quality of his inventions helped coin the phrase “The Real McCoy”.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 3, 1688
The Quakers in Germantown, Pa., make the first formal protest against slavery.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 4, 1900
Trumpeter Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong , jazz pioneer, born.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 5, 1892
Andrew J. Beard patents rotary engine.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 6, 1957
Althea Gibson wins women’s singles title at Wimbledon, becoming first African American to win tennis’s most prestigious award.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 7, 1948
Cleveland Indians sign pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige .
Search Library of Congress - Jul 8, 1943
Faye Wattleton, first African American director of Planned Parenthood, born.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 9, 1893
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs first successful open-heart operation.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 10, 1875
Educator Mary McLeod Bethune , founder of Bethune-Cookman College, born.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 11, 1905
W.E.B. Dubois and William Monroe Trotter organize the Niagara Movement, which demanded abolition of all race distinctions.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 12, 1949
Frederick M. Jones patents air-conditioning unit used in food transportation vehicles.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 13, 1965
Thurgood Marshall becomes first African American appointed U.S. Solicitor General.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 14, 1955
George Washington Carver Monument, first national park honoring an African American, is dedicated in Joplin, Mo.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 15, 1867
Maggie Lena Walker , first woman and first African American to become president of a bank.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 16, 1862
Anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells Barnett born.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 17, 1953
Jesse D. Locker appointed U.S. Ambassador to Liberia
Search Library of Congress - Jul 18, 1939
Saxophonist Coleman Hawkins records “Body and Soul” one of the classics of jazz.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 19, 1925
Paris debut of Josephine Baker , entertainer, activist and humanitarian.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 20, 1950
First U.S. victory in Korea won by Black troops of the 24th Infantry Regiment .
Search Library of Congress - Jul 21, 1896
Mary Church Terrell elected first president of the National Association of Colored Women.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 22, 1939
Jane M. Bolin of New York City, appointed first African American female judge.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 23, 1778
More than 700 Blacks participate in Battle of Monmouth (NJ).
Search Library of Congress - Jul 24, 1807
Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge , born in New York City.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 25, 1916
Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas mask, rescues six people from gas-filled tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 26, 1948
President Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the U.S. armed forces.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 27, 1880
Alexander P. Ashbourne patents process for refining coconut oil.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 28, 1868
14th Amendment granting Blacks full citizenship rights, becomes part of the Constitution.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 29, 1895
First National Conference of Colored Women Convention is held in Boston.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 30, 1822
James Varick becomes first bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
Search Library of Congress - Jul 31, 1874
Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated as president of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Search Library of Congress