In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins

(May 25, 1849 – June 14, 1908) was an African American autistic savant and musical prodigy on the piano. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th century, he was one of the most well-known American performing pianists.

Wiggins was born on the Wiley Edward Jones Plantation in Harris County, Georgia. Blind at birth, he was sold in 1850 along with his enslaved parents, Charity and Mingo Wiggins, to a Columbus, Georgia lawyer, General James Neil Bethune.^[1] Bethune was “almost the pioneer free trader” in the United States and “the first [newspaper] editor in the south to openly advocate secession” ^[2]. The new owner re-named the child Thomas Greene Bethune or Thomas Wiggins Bethune (according to different sources). Continue reading →

In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Bessie Coleman

First African American to earn an international pilot’s license

Bessie Coleman was the first African American to earn an international pilot’s license. She dazzled crowds with her stunts at air shows and refused to be slowed by racism.

She would be a leader, she said, in introducing aviation to her race. She would found a school for aviators of any race, and she would appear before audiences in churches, schools, and theaters to spark the interest of African Americans in the new, expanding technology of flight. Continue reading →

In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr

From Air Force Pilot to First Black Astronaut

Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr.: After flying combat missions over Vietnam as a U.S. Air Force pilot, he went on to become one of America’s first black astronauts. He flew 144 combat missions, 65 over North Vietnam, as a member of the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.

Lillian E. Fishburne

First Black Female Rear Admiral

Lillian E. Fishburne: Appointed by President Bill Clinton, she became the first African-American woman to hold the rank of rear admiral. The appointment also made the now-retired Fishburne the highest-ranking African-American woman in the U.S. Navy.

Thanks to Tanisha and Bryan Jones and their daughter Sinai for compiling these profiles from the following sources:

1) The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, by Susan Altman
2) The Roots website, theroots.com
3) Famous Black Inventors website, black-inventor.com

In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent: