BHM Fact of the Day

1. 1995 - Melvin Franklin dies
Bass Singer Melvin Franklin of The Temptations died of complications following a brain seizure in Los Angeles. He was 53.
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2. 1979 - Frank E. Peterson Jr.
Frank E. Peterson Jr. named the first Black general in the Marine Corps.
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3. 1965 - Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough President
Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough president, the highest elective office held by a Black woman in a major American city.
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4. 1929 - Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard born
Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1965, Howard signed a $70,000 contract with the NY Yankees and became the highest paid player in the history of baseball at the time.
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5. 1925 - Politician Louis Stokes born
Louis Stokes, former mayor of Detroit, Michigan, and member of the US House of Representatives, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Stokes was the first African American elected to the House from Ohio.
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6. 1915 - Reconstruction congressman Robert Smalls dies
Robert Smalls, Reconstruction congressman, dies in Beaufort, South Carolina.
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7. 1895 - William H Heard
William H. Heard, AME minister and educator, named minister to Liberia.
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8. 1869 - Louisiana governor signed public accommodations
Louisiana governor signed public accommodations law.
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9. 1868 - W.E.B. DuBois born
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (W.E.B. Du Bois) was born on this day.
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10. 1868 - Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois
On this day Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois, educator and civil rights advocate, is born in Great Barrington, Mass.