This Day In History

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception




THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1862 > The Federals occupy Fredericksburg. 1872 > Buffalo Bill Cody makes first stage appearance. 1915 > Yuan Shih-kai accepts Chinese throne. 1936 > Edward VIII abdicates. 1941 > Germany declares war on the United States. 1961 > First U.S. helicopters arrive in South Vietnam. 1964 > Sam Cooke dies under suspicious circumstances in LA. 1981 > Muhammad Ali fights Trevor Berbick. 2008 > Billionaire conman Bernard Madoff is arrested. More from this day: http://bit.ly/TRt0XR

On this day in African-American History...

1865 - Outlawing slavery, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
1906 - Blues singer Roosevelt Sykes was born in Elmar, AR.
1914 - World heavyweight champion boxer Jersey Joe Walcott (birthname: Arnold Raymond Cream) was born in Merchantville, NJ.
1919 - Baseball player, business executive and civil rights leader Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, GA. His full name was Jack Roosevelt Robinson.
1920 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, founded in 1914 at Howard University, was incorporated on this day.
1921 - Actress Carol Channing was born in Seattle, WA.
1925 - Activist, lawyer and minister Benjamin L. Hooks was born in Memphis, TN.
1931 - Baseball player and coach Ernie Banks was born in Dallas, TX.
1934 - Singer Etta Moten was the first African-American actress to perform at the White House. She sang for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife.
1962 - Lt. Comdr. Samuel L. Gravely became the first African-American to command a U.S. warship. He commanded the U.S.S. Falgout, a Navy destroyer escort.