Military
28 facts
Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation took effect, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.
Executive Order 9981 Desegregates Military
President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces.
Harriet Tubman Born
Harriet Tubman, conductor on the Underground Railroad, was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland.
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.
Tuskegee Airmen Established
The U.S. Army Air Corps established a training program for African American military pilots at Tuskegee, Alabama.
Toussaint Louverture Born
Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution, was born into slavery in Saint-Domingue (Haiti).
Crispus Attucks Killed in Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native American descent, was the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, often cited as the first casualty of the American Revolution.
Tuskegee Airmen Activated
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first Black military aviation unit, was activated at Tuskegee.
Buffalo Soldiers Established
Congress authorized the creation of six all-Black Army regiments, whose members became known as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Robert Smalls Commandeers Confederate Ship
Enslaved pilot Robert Smalls commandeered a Confederate military vessel and sailed it to freedom.
Colin Powell Becomes Secretary of State
Colin Powell was sworn in as the first African American Secretary of State.
Robert Smalls Captures Confederate Ship
Robert Smalls, an enslaved man, commandeered a Confederate military vessel and sailed it to freedom.
Robert Smalls Born
Robert Smalls, Civil War hero and U.S. Congressman who escaped slavery by stealing a Confederate ship, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Colin Powell Born
Colin Powell, the first African American Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was born in Harlem, New York.
Toussaint Louverture Dies
Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution, died in a French prison.
Port Chicago Disaster
An explosion at Port Chicago naval base killed 320 men, two-thirds of whom were Black sailors loading ammunition.
Wesley Brown Graduates Naval Academy
Wesley Brown became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Buffalo Soldiers at San Juan Hill
African American soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry played a decisive role in the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.
Guion Bluford Born
Guion Bluford, the first African American in space, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lloyd Austin Becomes Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin became the first African American Secretary of Defense.
Tuskegee Airmen Awarded Congressional Gold Medal
President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen.
Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole
Mary Seacole, Jamaican-born nurse and war heroine, sailed for the Crimean War after being rejected by British military authorities.
Artis Gilmore Born
The first Black graduate of West Point, Henry O. Flipper, was born in Thomasville, Georgia.
Montford Point Marines Established
The first African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps began training at Montford Point, North Carolina.
First African American Army Nurses Arrive Overseas
The first unit of African American Army nurses arrived in England during World War II.
Eritrea Gains Independence
Eritrea formally gained independence from Ethiopia after a 30-year war.
Angola Gains Independence
Angola gained independence from Portugal after a 14-year liberation war.
Mozambique Gains Independence
Mozambique gained independence from Portugal after a decade-long liberation war.