February 1 -- In 1492, Columbus
discovered America — with the help of his black navigator, Pedro Alonzo Nino.
February 2 -- On Feb. 1, 1948,
President Harry S. Truman pressed Congress for civil rights legislation, including
anti-lynching, fair employment practices and anti-poll-tax provisions.
February 3 -- Slavery is abolished
in Washington, D.C., in 1862 when $993,407 in compensation is paid to slave owners for
their lost "property."
February 4 -- "Billboard"
magazine stops publishing a separate R&B best-seller list in 1963 because there are so
many crossover singles on the Popular charts. The R&B chart returns in 1965.
February 5 -- Of the 46 settlers of
California’s second pueblo in 1781, Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de
Porciuncula (known now simply as Los Angeles) 26 are recorded as black or mulatto.
February 6 -- In 1992, John
Singleton becomes the first black American nominated for a best directing Oscar and his
film, "Boyz N the Hood," the first by a black American to be nominated for best
screenplay.
February 7 -- In 1891, Isaac
Murphy, riding Kingman, becomes the first jockey to win three Kentucky Derbys.
February 8 -- L. Douglas Wilder,
the grandson of a slave, is sworn in as the first black governor in the United States in
1990.
February 9 -- On this date in 1995,
NASA astronaut Bernard Harris became the first African American to walk in space.
February 10 -- Ronald H. Brown
became chairman of the Democratic National Committee on this date in 1989, the first black
person to hold the position in either party.
February 11 -- Barzillai Lew, one
of the first black fifers and drummers for the U.S. Army, fought in the French and Indian
War in 1761, and in the 27th Massachusetts Regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
February 12 -- Tuskegee Institute
reported there were no lynchings in 1952 for the first time in the 71 years it has been
keeping such records.
February 13 -- Louie
Armstrong’s "Hello Dolly" becomes the No. 1 record on
"Billboard’s" Top 40 Charts in 1964, replacing the Beatles’ "I
Want to Hold Your Hand."
February 14 -- In 1893 at
Chicago’s Divine Provident Hospital, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (a native of
Hollidaysburg) and six other black physicians performed the world’s first known
open-heart surgery.
February 15 -- In 1960, Fuller
Gordy of Detroit becomes the nation’s first black professional bowler.
February 16 -- In 1899, dentist
George F. Grant invents and patents the golf tee.
February 17 -- 1915 The NAACP
protests D.W. Griffith’s film "Birth of a Nation," because it features
racial stereotypes and glorifies the Ku Klux Klan.
February 18 -- Even though some
white competitors tried banning him from international cycling competition and even tried
running him off the road, Marshall W. "Major" Taylor established a new one-mile
world record in 1899.
February 19 -- Quincy Jones wins a
Grammy Legend Award in 1990, making him the most nominated artist in Grammy history with
76 nominations and 25 wins.
February 20-- In 1908, boxer John
Arthur "Jack" Johnson becomes the first black man to beat a white world
heavyweight champion by defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in a fight that was stopped in the
14th round.
February 21 -- In 1987, Dr.
Benjamin Carson led a 70-member surgical team in the 22-hour task of separating infant
twins who were born joined at the backs of their heads — the first successful such
operation.
February 22 -- In 1928 Archibald
Motley is the first artist of any race to make the front page of The New York Times.
February 23 -- In 1986, the
U.S. Senate overrides President Ronald Reagan’s veto of legislation imposing economic
sanctions against South Africa.
February 24 -- In 1988, Los Angeles
aerospace engineer Lonnie Johnson unveiled an air-powered water gun called the "Power
Drencher," which has gone on to fame and fortune as the "Super Soaker."
February 25 -- Gwendolyn
Brooks wins the Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry "Annie Allen" in 1950. She
is the first black American to win a Pulitzer in any category.
February 26 -- On this date in
1991, Adrienne Mitchell became the first black woman to die in combat in the Persian Gulf
War.
February 27 -- In 1923,
Garrett A. Morgan patents his automatic stop sign, precursor of the traffic signal, an
invention that he sold to General Electric Co.
February 28 -- Paul R.
Williams designs the Grave of the Unknown Soldier memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in
1952.
February 29 -- In 1974, Frank
Robinson, the first black manager in the major leagues, hits a home run during his first
at-bat after being named player-manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Source: "The Timetables of African-American
History" by Sharon Harley
