A Brief History On February 1, 1998, Lillian E. Fishburne became the first African American woman promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral (2 stars) in the United States Navy. In keeping with the spirit of Black History Month (every February) and expanding on our previous articles celebrating African American achievements, we take this opportunity to cite even more impressive achievements by African Americans, not just “firsts,” but other great accomplishments as well. (And see our recent article dated January 18, 2021), “Historic African American Firsts”) Who would you add to this list? Digging Deeper Lillian E. Fishburne, 1st African…
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A Brief History On September 17, 2020, the National Football League (NFL) celebrated its 100th birthday! Digging Deeper Ivy League Roots The NFL has not so humble beginnings as the first official football game as we know it took place in 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers. The rules were forged as a hybrid of soccer and rugby but it was not until a tremendous rugby player from Yale, Walter Camp, came along in the 1880s who crafted the early rules that we recognize today as American football. The first paid player came in the form of William “Pudge” Heffelfinger of…
A Brief History Today, January 27th, 2021 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, we commemorate the tragedy of the Holocaust, the genocide that resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews and 11 million others. Digging Deeper This playlist presents a variety of videos by myself and my colleagues on the history of anti-Semitism before, during, and after the Holocaust. The preceding videos have covered just some of the tragic history of anti-Semitism. It is our hope that through education, we can help prevent such tragedies from occurring again. Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What can…
A Brief History On January 25, 1881, 2 of the great names in the annals of inventions teamed up to form the Oriental Telephone Company. Harnessing the invention of Alexander Graham Bell for commercial purposes, Bell teamed with Thomas Edison, the Anglo-Indian Telephone Company and the Oriental Telephone Company of New York to form the new enterprise to sell telephones and related equipment in the Mediterranean and Near East areas as well as India and the Far East. Bell became the first to patent the telephone in 1876, providing the first method of long-distance voice transmission. Prior to his invention,…
A Brief History On January 18, 2021, the United States celebrates the birthday of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., an icon in the Civil Rights Movement and an African American man of historic importance. In honor of Reverend King, we take a look at some notable African American “firsts” in American History, although some of the entries may cause the reader to wonder at the dates involved. Was the United States really that far behind in racial equality at such late dates? Judge for yourself. (See our many other articles concerning African American accomplishments.) Please do not fret if you…