Famous African Americans

Links verified 2/14/2022

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February 1 -This African American patented the ventilated shoe on April 29, 1890 and thereby helped to provide comfort and healthy feet to the world.

February 2 - His first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor book citation in 1996.

February 3 - This musical artist's album stayed on the charts for 80 weeks, holding the No. 1 spot for 37 weeks.

February 4 - This player led led his team to six national championships as well as earned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award five times.

February 5 - First Black inventor to receive a patent for an invention.

February 6 - First African American female doctor to patent a medical invention.

February 7 - First African American to publish a novel or a play.

February 8 - First African American ever elected to public office.

February 9 - The world's first African American heavyweight champion.

February 10 - The first licensed African-American pilot in the world.

February 11 - The first African-American to be honored on a U.S. stamp, in 1940.

February 12 - This African American invented the Shoe Lasting machine, which connected the upper part of the shoe to the sole.

February 13 - This African American patented a folding chair.

February 14 - This American track-and-field athlete won nine Olympic gold medals during the 1980s and '90s.

February 15 - This American holds the heptathlon world record-holder and American record-holder in the long jump.

February 16 - This American received the Medal of Honor. It was presented to him by President Richard Nixon at the White House on March 7th, 1969.

February 17 - She was the first African American woman to receive a patent.

February 18 - She read her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," during the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.

February 19 - He discovered the modern processes for preserving blood for transfusions.

February 20 - This author holds the distinction of having twice won the Pulitzer Prize, for plays depicting the African American experience.

February 21 - In 1893 this famous doctor performed the first successful heart surgery.

February 22 - This famous scientist, an authority on the behavior of insects, was the first researcher to prove that insects can hear.

February 23 - This man is believed to be the first man to actually reach the North Pole, some 45 minutes ahead of Peary, on 6 April 1909.

February 24 - This man's invention was a very simple and portable pencil sharpener. The same kind of pencil sharpener that can be found in an office or school room.

February 25 - This man created a device with a metal collection plate attached to a short wooden handle in which trash could be swept without getting one's hands dirty.

February 26 - On November 27, 1897 this man received a patent for a device he called the Jenny Coupler. The Jenny Coupler automatically joined cars by simply allowing them to bump into each other.

February 27 - He created a device that could be attached to a telephone and could be set to record a voice message from a caller. By utilizing a clock attachment, the machine could also forward the messages as well as keep track of the time they were made.

February 28 - . On February 17, 1891 this man patented the butter churn. The device consisted of a large wooden cylinder container with a plunger-like handle which moved up and down

February 29 - [optional in most years] This man is considered one of the 10 most important Black inventors of all time, not only for the sheer number of inventions created and patents secured but also for the magnitude of importance for his most famous discovery.