August 25
First Africans Arrive at Jamestown
In late August 1619, approximately 20–30 enslaved Africans, originally from the Kingdom of Ndongo in present-day Angola, arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia aboard the English privateer ship White Lion. They had been captured from a Portuguese slave ship. This moment is widely considered the beginning of African American history in what would become the United States, though their exact legal status—whether enslaved or indentured—remains debated by historians.
Althea Gibson Born
Born August 25, 1927, Althea Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis. She won the French Open in 1956, Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, and the U.S. National Championships in 1957 and 1958. She later became the first Black woman to join the LPGA Tour.
Birth of Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was born in Silver, South Carolina, and became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title.