religious leader, historianBorn: 1849Birthplace: Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania Enlisting at 14, Williams fought for the North in the Civil War. In 1874, he became the first Black person to graduate…
religious leaderBorn: 1780Birthplace: New Brunswick, New Jersey Williams grew up to become active in the Methodist Church. In 1818, with the blessings of prominent white Methodist minister Thomas…
religious leaderBorn: 1749Birthplace: New York, New York Although he was a slave, Williams became a sexton in the Methodist Church in 1778. When his owner returned to England in 1783, the church…
Born: Nov. 25, 1903Track & Field won the long jump at the 1924 Olympics, becoming the first Black athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event; set the long jump world record in…
aircraft manufacturerBorn: 1881Birthplace: Detroit, Mich. Having begun his career working in the lumber industry, in 1916 he formed the Pacific Aero Products Company. He organized a company in 1927…
ship-owner, art collectorBorn: 1861Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland He began collecting art at age 15 working in his father's business, and gradually accumulated over 8,000 works of art. He gave the…
publisher, philanthropistBorn: 1829Birthplace: Baltimore, Md. Having begun his career when he opened a Philadelphia bookstore in 1847, he soon expanded into publishing. He is most known for having…
lawyerBorn: 1854Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y. Originally an accountant with the New York law firm of Algernon S. Sullivan, he joined the firm as an attorney and became partner in 1879. The Sullivan…
statistician, management consultantBorn: 10/14/1900Birthplace: Sioux City, Iowa After studying electrical engineering at the University of Wyoming and mathematical physics at Yale, he began his…
manufacturerBorn: 12/8/1861Birthplace: Boston, Mass. He quit high school to begin work in his grandfather's Flint, Michigan, lumberyard. By 1885 he had organized the Flint Road Cart Company, which…