Black History Month (Post 40)

If you want to start your own ten cent crazy book - read post 1-4 to find out how

February is Black History Month. Here's a list to add to your ten cent crazy book of ways in which African-Americans have shaped history.

Frederick Jones held over 60 patents with most of them pertaining to refrigeration. His portable air conditioner was used in World War II to preserve medicine and blood serum.

David Crosthwait Jr. an expert on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning holds 39 U.S. patents and 80 international patents pertaining to heating, refrigeration and temperature regulating systems. Crosthwait created the heating system for New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

Jesse Owens broke many records at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, including becoming the first athlete to win four gold medals in one Olympiad.

Wilt Chamberlain was the first basketball player to score 100 points in a single game during the 1961 season and the first player in the NBA to score 30,000 points.

Wilma Rudolph a record breaking track star was born the 20th of 22 children, and stricken with polio as a child. She not only overcame polio but broke world records in three Olympic track events and was the first American woman to win three gold medals at the Olympics (1960).

Florence Griffith-Joyner "Flo Jo" a runner known for her stylish flair on the track, set the world record for the 100 and 200 meter dash at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

Jack Johnson the first African–American heavyweight champion patented a wrench in 1922.

Isaac Murphy a great thoroughbred jockey, was the first to win three Derbies and the only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Clark Handicap within the same year.

Mayme Clayton a Los Angeles librarian and historian, amassed an extensive and valuable collection of Black Americana, including a signed copy of the first book published by an African–American, a collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley. The Mayme A. Clayton Library and Cultural Center in Los Angeles houses the rare books, photographs, films and memorabilia.

Bill Pickett a renowned cowboy and rodeo performer was named to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and honored by the U.S. Postal service in a series of stamps as one of the twenty "Legends of the West"

Nat Love “Deadwood Dick” a renowned and skilled cowboy, was the only African–American cowboy to write his autobiography, “The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as Deadwood Dick”, published in 1907.

Ray Charles Robinson a musical genius and pioneer in blending gospel and the blues shortened his name to just Ray Charles to prevent confusion with the great boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. Ray Charles began going blind at an early age and was completely blind by the time he was 7 years old, but has never relied upon a cane, or a guide dog. He was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1986.

Walker Smith Jr. became known as Sugar Ray Robinson he borrowed his friend Ray Robinson’s Amateur Athletic Union card and became the Golden Glove Lightweight champion in 1940 under the borrowed name. Smith’s boxing style was described as “sweet as sugar” and the name Sugar Ray Robinson stuck. Considered the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and was middleweight champion five times between 1951 and 1960 –the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times.

Booker T. Washington was the first African-American to be honored on a U.S. stamp, in 1940.

George Washington Carver who made agricultural advancements and inventions pertaining to the use of peanuts and Percy Julian, who helped create drugs to combat glaucoma, were the first African-Americans admitted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990.

Althea Gibson was the first African-American tennis player to compete in the U.S. Championships in 1950 and at Wimbledon in 1951. In 1957 she won the women's singles and doubles at Wimbledon in 1957, which was celebrated by a ticker tape parade when she returned home to New York City.

Arthur Ashe was the first African-American to not only be named to the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1963, but to also win the U.S. Open in 1968, to win the men's singles at Wimbledon in 1975, and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.

Ralph J. Bunche a politician and a U.N. diplomat, was the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace prize in 1950 for mediating the Arab-Israeli truce.

Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African-American to graduate from West Point academy in 1877 and became the first black commander when he was assigned to the 10th Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier regiment.

Richard Theodore Greener was the first African-American graduate from Harvard in 1870. He started out at Oberlin College, the first American college to admit African-Americans and went on to become a lawyer.

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