Henry V111 wish to divorce Catherine of Aragon. He decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. The 1534 Act of supremacy recognized Henry as 'the only Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England.

Thomas Becket is one of the most famous men in English History. Henry11 asked, ‘Who will rid me of this traitor?’ Four of his knights took at his word and went to Canterbury Cathedral and in front of the high altar murdered Thomas. Henry 11 and Thomas had been friends. Henry 11 had appointed him to be his royal chancellor. He performed his duties very capably and became the king’s trusted servant and friend. On the death of of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury Henry11 appointed Thomas his successor. He believed Thomas would serve the state as well as the church. On appointment Thomas changed his allegiance and his life style. He abandoned his worldly materialistic ways and became a saintly soul living a disciplined , pious and austere life. He steadfastly resisted all efforts to impose the royal will on the church. Discord developed over how the church and state dealt with clerics convicted of crimes. Following a quarrel Thomas, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was forced into exile in France (1164-1170). On his return to England in 1170 he met with his death. Henry11 when he heard the news was distraught - what he had said in anger he now regretted. Henry was forced to do penance because there was such an outpouring of rage from the public Thomas was sainted in 1173 and became the most popular saint in English History. His Legacy is enormous. In the ‘Canterbury Tales’ by Chaucer a group of pilgrims are on their way to worship at his shrine. (Read Legacy) Sources used Great Leaders of the Christian Church - Woodbridge contribution from Robert G. Clouse wipedia BBC History

Edward the Confessor was a king who later became recognized as a saint He lived in the eleventh century . He died shortly before the Battle of Hasting between King Harold, his successor and William 1, William the conqueror. There are differences of opinion as to whether he was a weak or a strong king. Confessor reflects his reputation as a saint who did not suffer martyrdom. Wikipedia uses the work ’ nickname ’ to reflect the traditional image of him as unworldly and pious. He did reign for 24 years It is said because he was unable to fulfill a vow to go to Rome that he built a monastery. The monastery we call Westminster Abbey. He re-established the Abbey of Westminster on a site of a church built 400 years earlier. It was the first Norman Romanesque church in England. Building began in 1042 and consecrated on 28th December 1065. Edward unfortunately was too ill to attend the ceremony and died the following week - 5th January 1066. Edward was buried at Westminster Abbey. His body was exhumed a number of times and was finally given a centerpiece, in a magnificent tomb, in the new thirteenth century ( present day )Abbey. Edward can be seen on the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Edward the Confessor was for many years the patron saint of England until Saint George, during the time of the Crusades, replaced him. HIs feast day is 13th October. Westminster Abbey was finally completed in 1090 some 25 years after his death. In 1245, during the reign of Henry111, it was demolished and replaced by today’s present building.

Just 5 pages Stuarts family - maths, Dates and Events, Execution of Charles I, map and Clip art of Roundhead and Cavalier Illustrations by David Woodroffe

I have included a portrait of Christopher Columbus, plus information about his first voyage with a map. From Google it is possible to download pictures to colour of Columbus and his ships Map and drawings by David Woodroffe

Olaudah Equiano, known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa, He was probably born in the Eboe region of the kingdom of Benin province, in the area that is now southern Nigeria. ( He twice listed his birthplace in the Americas) Most of what he wrote in his book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa (published in 1789)can be verified. ( See Amazon notes) As a child he was kidnapped with his sister, aged about 11, and sold to local slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to Barbados and then Virginia. In Virginia he was sold to a Royal Naval officer, Lieutenant Michael Pascal. Pascal renamed him Gustavus Vassa - the name of a 16th century Swedish king ( he had already been called Michael and Jacob). He travelled the oceans with Pascal for 8 years. In his book he give eye witness accounts of the Seven Years War with France. Pascal favoured him by sending him to his sister-in-law so that he could attend school and learn to read and write. Olaudah was converted to Christianity and was baptised at St. Margaret’s Westminster on 9th February, 1759 Pascal then sold him to Captain James Doran of the Charming Sally at gravesend, from where he was transported to the Caribbean. Doran sent him to Montserrat where he was sold to Robert King, a prominent American Quaker merchant from Philadelphia who traded in the Caribbean. He worked as a deckhand, barber and valet for King. He earned enough money over 3 years, by trading on the side, to buy his freedom. He then spent the next 20 years travelling the world. He made trips to Turkey and the Arctic. He took care not to be captured and sold again as a slave. In 1786 he came to London, He became involved in the movement to abolish slavery and joined the Sons of Africa - a group of 12 black African men. (See notes) In 1789 he published his book. which depicted the horrors of slavery. he spent many months speaking in public about his life. It went through 9 editions in his lifetime and helped gain passage of the British Slave Trade Act of 1807 On 7th April 1792 he married Susannah Cullen, an English woman. They married in Soham, Cambridge and settled there. They had 2 daughters -Anna Maria and Joanna Susannah died in February 1796 Olaudah Equiano aged 52, died on 31st March 1797 just over a year later. The register reads Gustus Vasa, 52 years, St Mary Le Bone He was buried at Whitefield’s Tabernacle on 6th April. (burial place now lost). Anna Maria died in 1797 aged just 4 Joanna went on to marry Revd. Henry Bromley Amazon Timelines from Black History BBC History

Jupiter Hammon is known as the founder of African - American literature. His poem An Evening Thought;Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries (EVSCPC), published in 1761, was the first by an African-American in North America. (Read copy of poem) Born into slavery he became a devoted Christian evangelist preacher. He was also a commercial clerk on long island. New York. He was a slave of the Lloyd family. He was born at the Lloyd Manor (now Lloyd Harbor). He served 4 generations of the Lloyd family for his entire life Like the Lloyds family Jupiter was a fervent Christian. Aged 22 he bought a bible from his master for 7 shillings and 6 pence. His writings reflected his spirituality. I Jupiter received rudimentary education through the Anglican Church’s Society of the Gospel in Foreign parts system. His ability to read and write aided the Lloyds in their commercial businesses and helped him exhibit a level of intellectual awareness through literature. EVSCPC was his first published poem. Composed on 25th December, Christmas day 1760 it appeared as a 'broadside in 1761. An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley, 18 years later, was his second work to appear in print. The dedicated poem, to a fellow black slave, contained 21 rhyming quatrains (4 lines) , each accompanied by a Biblical verse -thinking it would help her Christian journey. On 24th September 1786, aged 76, and still a slave, Jupiter said this famous quote during his speech at the inaugural meeting of the African Society in New York City , If we should get to heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves. He knew that slavery was deeply entrenched in American society and that immediate emancipation of all slaves would be difficult to achieve, The exact year of Jupiter Hammon’s death is unknown but it is believed he died in 1806. He ranked 327 in the top 500 poets. Sources All poetry Wikipedia

Harriet Jacobs was convinced, by friends, to write an autobiography of her life as a slave. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl(1861) was the book and it is one of the first open discussions about the sexual harassment and abuse endured by a slave woman - a topic that even made abolitionists feel uncomfortable. The story tells of how, eventually after many years as a slave, Harriet was able to escape the continual sexual harassment of her slave owner and become a free woman. In her autobiography Harriet’s says her childhood was a happy one. Though we were slaves, I was fondly shielded that I never dreamed that I was a piece of merchandise. But on the death of her benevolent mistress, when she was 12, everything changed. Her ownership transfered to her mistress’s niece who was only 3 years old. Harriet’s actual new master was the niece’s father - Dr James Norcom. He would cause her a great deal of pain. When she was 15 Norcom began his relentless efforts to bend the slave girl’s will. He would whisper ‘foul words’ in her ear. His wife became suspicious so he built Harriet a cottage 4 miles from town. She asked if she could marry a free black man, Norcom violently refused. She had a plan. She became friendly with a caring white, unmarried lawyer. They had a child, She expected the infuriated Norcom to sell her and her child.- he didn’t. She bore the lawyer a second child. She heard Norcom was preparing to get the children to work as plantation slaves. In June 1835, after 7 rears of mistreatment, she ’ escaped’ and stayed with neighbours, black and white. The lawyer had bought her grandmother and uncle’s house. She found a tiny crawl space above the porch just big enough to hid in (9x7x3 feet). This tiny hiding place is where she stayed for the next 7 years- she could see her children through a peep hole. At night she would briefly exercise. In 1842 she escaped to freedom. She sailed to Philadelphia and then to New York by train. She was reunited with her children Joseph and Louisa Matilda and eventually her brother, John J. Jacobs… She fled to Massachusetts to again escape from Norcom. She found work as a nanny for the Children of Nathaniel Parker Willis. Harriet eventually became legally free when Mrs Willis, arranged her purchase. She made contact with abolitionists and feminist reformers. She was actively involved with the abolition movement before the launch of the Civil War. During the war she helped raise money for black refugees. After the war she worked to improve the conditions of th e recently freed slaves. She went with her daughter to the Union occupied parts of the South to help organize and found 2 schools for fugitives and freed slaves. She died in 7th March 1897, aged 84, a free woman. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is now considered an ‘American classic’ Sources Africans in America Amazon National Archives Penquin Classics

Rebecca Lee Crumpler (nee Davis) was an American physician and author. She initially trained as a nurse but in 1864 she became the first African-American female doctor of medicine in the USA. She was the only female physician author in the 19th century A Book of Medical Discourses (1883) She dedicated herself to treating women an children who lived in poverty. Rebecca treated patients regardless of their ability to pay and often took no money for her work As a child she excelled in mathematics. In the 1870s she attended the elite West newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts. She taught in Wilmington beginning in 1874 and in New Castle, Delaware beginning in 1876 She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native and former slave in 1852. This was his second marriage and his son Albert dies aged just 7. This tragedy motivated her to become a nurse. She studied nursing for the next 8 years( 1855-64). The doctors and nurses are impressed with her knowledge and skills and encourage her to enroll in medical college. In 1860 she wins a scholarship to train as a doctor at the New England Female Medical College, Boston. She was the first and only African=American physician in her class. (Read Education -Nursing and medical school) In 1864 she become the first African- American woman to earn a medical degree. That year, because of the US Civil War (1861-5), she lost her funding and then her husband to tuberculosis . On 24th May 1865 she marries Arthur Crumpler a former fugitive slave. They are both active members of the Twelfth Baptist church where Arthur is a trustee. They move to Richmond , Virginia. She helps slaves rebuild their lives after slavery. She treated patients who otherwise would not have received medical care. She was subject to ‘intense racism’ and sexism while practicing medicine. She is shunned by fellow doctors and has problems getting the medication required. They return to Boston ((1869) where she sets up a medical clinic in a mainly African- American community of Beacon Hill. She treats women and children for free, if they are unable to pay. They stay there until 1880 11 years. By 1883 they are now living in Hyde Park, New York. She writes her medical journal * A Book of Medical Discourses*(BofMD) it was dedicated to nurses and mothers and focused on the medical care of women and children.(Read BofMD) Rebecca died in 9th March 1895, aged 64. She overcame a number of obstacles. She was the first African- American to become a doctor in the USA. She was the first African- American to publish a medical book. She is an inspiration for those who follow in her footsteps. On 16thJuly, 2020 a gravestone, following a ceremony, was finally installed at Fairview Cemetery to mark where Rebecca and Arthur were buried. Sources Amazon Timelines from Black History

William Wells Brown was a prominent African- American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright and historian. His novel Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) considered to be the first novel written by an African- American - published in London, England. In 1867 he published the first history by an African- American *The Negro in the American Revolution . * George Higgins,his father, was a white plantation owner; his mother was a black slave named Elizabeth. She had 7 children all by different men. His father treated him like a house slave: his mother was a field slave. Together they were hired out to Major Freeland- a drunkard who kept a public house. William complained back to his father who was only interested in the money he was paid for his slaves - so after 6 months he escaped only to be caught. He was whipped and smoked (twice) and sent back to work. ( Read first set of notes ) He was also hired out to work on steamboats on the Missouri River. His work allowed to him to travel to see many new places. In 1833 he and his mother escaped across the river but were captured in Illinois. In 1834 they successfully slipped away from a steamboat when it docked in Cincinnati, Ohio They escaped to Dayton. The elderly Quaker, Wells Brown, helped him recover from a fever. When asked if he had another name than William he decided to adopt this kind gentleman’s name - William Wells Brown. He learned to read and write and eagerly sought more education. In 1834 he married Elizabeth Schooner. They had 2 daughters Clarissa and Josephine. ( Later they became estranged she died in 1851) He was hired by Elijah P. Lovejoy, the famed abolitionist and publisher of the St. Louis Times. He enjoyed working for him. From 1836- 1845? he made his home in Buffalo new York. He became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and worked on a Lake Erie steamer ferrying slaves to freedom in Canada. He became active in the abolitionist movement by joining several anti-slavery societies which included public speaking and music. He traveled with a slavery -themed traveling panorama He also organized a Temperance society. In 1947 published his memoir. -The Narrative of WWB , a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself. ( See ‘Literary Works’) In 1949 he traveled to the U.K. to lecture on slavery. Represents US at the International Peace Congress in Paris. 1950 Fugitive Slave Act in the US - decided to stay in Europe. 1853Clotel published in London 1854 Richardson family buy his freedom. Returns to US to rejoin the anti-slavery lecture circuit. 1861-5 American Civil War- recruits blacks for the Union. 1880 last book published 6th November, 1884 William dies , aged 70, in Chelsea, Massachusetts . In 2013 he was among the first writers inducted to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame He was the first African- American novelist & historian.

Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly, was the first African-American author of a published book of poems - Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Phillis was born in West Africa, probably present day Gambia or Senegal. She was sold into slavery aged 7 or 8 and transported to North America. She arrived in Boston, in the British Colony of Massachusetts, on 11th July 1761. She was enslaved by the Wheatley family of Boston. She was named Phillis after the name of the ship which transported her The Phillis. She was given the last name of Wheatley since it was common custom, if any surname was used, for enslaved people. The Wheatleys gave her the opportunity to learn to read and write and encouraged her talent for writing poetry. Their daughter Mary was her first tutor in reading and writing. Their son Nathaniel also helped. By the age of 12 she was reading Greek and Latin classics in their original language In 1770 she wrote a tribute to the evangelist George Whitefield. Many of her poems expressed Christian themes and many were dedicated to famous figures. In 1772 she successfully defended her authorship in court. The signed attestation is included in the preface to her book ( See ‘Poetry’) In 1773, aged 20, she made a trip to London, with her master’s son,seeking to find publication of her work. It was also thought it would help her health - she suffered from chronic asthma. Phillis met prominent people who became patrons. She had an audience with the Lord mayor of London, Frederick Bull. Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington, subsidized volumes of her poems. Selina became ill so they never actually met. Poems on various subjects, Religious and Moral was published in London on 1st September 1773. It brought her fame in both England and the American colonies. She met George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1776. Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem. She *became the most famous African on the face of the earth *Voltaire. Phillis was emancipated (set free from slavery in November 1773 by the Wheatleys. But she soon lost the support of the Wheatleys, Susanna diedi n 1774, and John in 1778. She met and married John Peters, a free black grocer. They struggled with poor living conditions. They lost 2 babies. In 1784 he was imprisoned. Phillis went o work as a scullery maid in a boarding house. She became ill and died on th 5th December 1784. Her infant son soon after. Despite her early fame Phillis died in poverty and obscurity at the age of just 31. She is honored as the first African -American to publish a book of poetry and the first to make a living from her writings. 2002 Molefi Kete Asante listed her as one of his 100 greatest African- Americans For more ‘Legacy and Honors’ read notes. Sources Amazon Timelines from bBack History Wikipedia

Sarah Jane Woodson Early, nee Sarah Jane Woodson, was an American educator, black nationalist, temperance activist and author. In 1858 she became the first black woman college instructor. She was also the first black African- American (A-A) to teach at a university-Historically Black College or University (HBCU) before the Civil War (1861-5) Sarah was the fifth and youngest daughter of 11. Her parents were Thomas Woodson and Jemima (nee Riddle) . She was born FREE in Chillicothe, Ohio on 15th November 1825 (In 1820 her father had paid $900 for the family’s freedom whilst living in Greenbrier County, Virginia. There were only 1 of 2 free black families in the entire county so they moved to the free state of Ohio. ) The Woodsons founded the first black methodist church west of the Alleghenies mountain range. In 1830 they were among the founders of a separate black farming community called Berlin Crossroad which became a prominent spot on the ’ Underground Rail Road’- an escape route for slaves. By 1840 nearly 2 dozen families had established a school, stores and churches. Her father and some of her brothers became black nationalists. Sarah showed an interest in education at a very early age. By the age of 3 should memorize hymns sung by her family. By the age of 5 she was able to memorize lengthy passages of the Bible. In 1839 she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) where 2 of her brothers were ministers. In 1852 along with her sister, Hannah, she enrolled at the Oberin College. In 1856 she was one of the first African-American (A-A) women to graduate with a degree in Classical Studies. After graduation she taught in the black community schools in Ohio for several years. She was the first principal at a public school in Xenia, Ohio. In 1858 she joined Wilberforce University and became the first A-A woman college instructor She taught at HBCU where her brother Rev. Lewis Woodson was the founder and a trustee . HBCU closed during the war. In 1863 bought by AME and re-opened as first A-A college to be owned and operated. In 1868 she began teaching in a new school for black girls established by the Freedmen’s Bureau in Hillsboro. North Carolina. On 24th September, aged 42, she married Rev. Jordan Winston Early - an AME minister and former slave. They moved to Tennessee where she became principal of schools in 4 cities. From 1868-88) - 20 years, she helped her husband with his ministries until he retired. She taught school for nearly 40 years. She believed education was critical for the advancement of the race. 1888-92 she was national superintendent of the black division of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and gave 100 lectures across 5 states. Sarah wrote her husband’s biography and his rise from slavery - it is included among postwar narratives. Sarah’s career ended with her death. She died on 15th August 1907, aged 82. Sources PRO WCofRW WCTU Wikipedia

Hidden Figures: The story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race is the true story of how 3 black African-American (A-A) women helped NASA win the Space Race to the Moon. It was adapted as a biographical film of the same name and released in 2016 . It is a film and not a documentary. It looked at the lives of three black (A-A) women who made major contributions to the orbital mission of the moon by John Glenn during the space race. Wonderful, feel-good drama about the black female engineers and mathematicians who worked behind the scenes at a segregated NASA during the tense and ground breaking 1960s space race. Daily Mail- weekend Segregation was made obvious. Jim Crow laws meant A-A women had to have separate dining room and bathroom facilities Katherine’s boss eventually became curious about her ‘absences’ - eventually he ’ ceremonially’ pulled down the ‘Whites only’ sign. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1958 became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). All three ladies started work at NACA, Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Katherine Johnson (1918-2020), A-A, started to work for NACA in 1953. She was a human calculator - she was simply brilliant at mathematics. Her mental maths calculations were phenomenal. The new IBM computers had been programed with the orbital equations to control the trajectory of the capsule in Glenn’s Friendship 7 mission, but were prone to errors! Before his flight, as part of the preflight checklist,Glenn said 'Get that girl (Katherine 0 If she says they’re good then I’m ready to go. He wanted human confirmation that the figures were correct. Katherine was handed the data. She confirmed the calculations by running the numbers through by hand on her desktop mechanical calculating machine. Numbers confirmed Glenn had a successful mission, Dorothy Vaughan (1910-2008), A-A ,started work at NACA in 1943. She was a mathematician and human calculator. She eventually became the first African=American to supervise a group of A-A staff at NASA’s Research Center in Hampton. She was in charge of the West Area Computers. She prepared for the the introduction of the IBM machine computers by teaching first herself and then her staff the programming language of Fortran. Mary Jackson (nee Winston)(1921-2005), A-A, was a mathematician and aerospace engineer. She started as a human computer at N A C A in 1951. Kazimierz Czarnecki, her boss, encouraged her to qualify as an engineer but she needed a degree. To do this she had to attend a night program at an all white school- Hampton High. After completing the course in 1958 she was promoted to aerospace engineer - the first black female NASA engineer. By 1979 she was the senior engineer. She retrained for Equal Opportunities . Retired from NASA 1985. All 3 of them were reward numerous awards and honors. In 2020 two had a satellite named after them.

Cathay Williams was an African-American (A-A) soldier who enlisted in the US Army under the pseudonym William Cathay. She was the first black woman to enlist, and the only documented woman to serve in the US Army posing as a man. Despite the fact that it was prohibited for a woman to join the army she managed to enlist under the name William Cathay. Only her cousin and a friend, who were fellow soldiers in her regiment, knew the truth about the deception… She, some how, managed to pass a medical examination - very cursory- and she was registered to the 38th United States Infantry Regiment. Cathay was the child of a free man and a woman in slavery which made her legal status to be a slave. Shortly after her enlistment she caught smallpox and was hospitalized. She rejoined her unit which was posted to new Mexico. After years of marching and the after effects of smallpox she was often hospitalized. The post surgeon discovered she was a woman. Her commanding officer, Captain Charles E. Clarke discharged her on 14th the October 1868. 20 plus years later (1889) she applied for a disability pension based on her military service . Following a medical examination in September 1893 her application was rejected although she suffered from neuralgia and diabetes, all her toes had been amputated and she walked with a crutch. The actual date of her death -probably late 1893 and her place of burial, are unknown. In 2016 a small bust of Cathay Williams, with a small rose garden, was unveiled outside the Richard Allen Cultural Center in Leavenworth, Kansas. in 2018 a Private Cathay Williams monument bench was unveiled on the Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum. Sources Remembering Remarkable Firsts During Black History Month Wikipedia

Mary Jane Patterson was the first African-American (A-A) to receive a B.A. degree in 1862. Mary was the oldest child of Henry and Emime Patterson’ s children. Henry worked as a brick layer and plasterer who gained his freedom after Mary was born in 1852. He then moved the family to Oberlin, Ohio. In 1856 Oberlin had a a large community of black families - some free, some fugitive slaves. It had and integrated co-ed college. Father now worked as a master mason. For many years the family boarded large numbers of black students in their home. In 1857 she completed a year of preparatory course work. She enrolled in Oberlin College’s ‘gentlemen’s course’ - a 4 year program of classical studies which included Latin, Greek and Mathematics, this led to a B.A. degree with high honors. (Not the 2 year ladies course which did not earn a degree). After graduating from Oberlin College in 1862 she began teaching in Chillicothe, Ohio. On 21st of September 1864 she applied for a position in Norfolk, Virginia, at a school for black children. In 1865 she became assistant to Fanny Jackson Coppin at the Philadelphia Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University). In 1869 she began to teach at the preparatory High School for Colored Youth ((later known as the M Street School, now known, after 1919, as the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Washington D.C.). From 1871 -2 she became the school 's first black principal. In 1872 she was demoted to assistant principle when Richard Theodore Greener - the first black Harvard University graduate, arrived. On his departure in 1873 she was reappointed principal (1873-84). Over the next 11 years the school grew from 50 to 172 students. Under her leadership the school gained strong intellectual standards.- high school commencements were initiated. She continued to teach at the school after her tenure as principal had finished. Outside of teaching she was interested in women’s rights and helped to found the Colored Women’s League of Washington D.C. The group focused on kindergarten teaching training , rescue work and classes fro industrial schools and homemaking. While in Washington she lived with her sisters, Emma and Chanie, and her brother John. In the late 1880’s their parents came to live with them due to the parents financial difficulties. Mary died on 24th September, 1894, aged only 54. Mary is remembered as as a pioneer in black education by paving the way for other black female educators. She was the first black African-American woman to receive a college degree -the year 1862 Sources Dunbar High school Past Wikipedia See also my notes on Dunbar High School (Washington D,C,) and Dunbar Firsts -information, on 6 black African-American firsts from the school

Alexander Lucius Twilight was an African-American (A-A) educator, minister and politician. He was the first male A-A to earn a degree from an American college or university graduating from Middlebury College in 1823. He was also the only A-A ever elected to the state legislature (1836), serving in the Vermont House of Representatives, before the Civil War (1861-5). He was born on 23rd September, 1795, in Bradford, Vermont. In 1798 they moved to Corinth. Alexander’s father, Ichabod was black, his mother Mary was described as ‘white’ or ‘light skinned’ implying she was of partial African descent. It is believed they were free and mixed race of African and English descent.They are both listed in the Corinth, Vermont town history as *the first negroes to settle in Corinth where they bought property, moving from Bradforf on November 28,1798 * From the age of 8 he worked on a neighbour’s farm. For the next 12 years he read, studied and learned mathematics while working in various labour positions. In 1815, aged of 20, he enrolled at Randolph’s Orange County Grammar School. Between 1815-21 he completed the secondary school courses and the first two years of college level curriculum. In 1821 enrolled at Middlebury College and left in 1823 with an Arts degree. The first A-A to be awarded a degree from an American institution of higher learning. Nobody realized it at the time. In 1826 Edward Jones claimed that honor which resulted in Middlebury publishing Alexander’s earlier graduation. His first job was in Peru, New York, where he stayed for 4 years. In 1828 he moved to Vergennes, Vermont to teach during the week and hold week-end services in Waltham and Ferrisburg. In 1829 he was hired as principal of the Orleans County, Vermont, Grammar school. in Brownington. He was ordained a minister of the Congregational Church. He built a house for his family (now the headquarters of the Orleans County Historical Society) . Alexander wanted to build a residence dormitory to accommodate borders. Built between 1834-6 the result was Athenian Hall - a massive, 4 storey, granite building. ( See ‘Old Stone House Museum’) In 1836 elected first A-A to the Vermont House of representatives. Unsuccessful in bid not to share school funding with the new Craftsbury school. In 1847, after 18 years, left headship having fallen out with Brownington trustees. He taught at Shipton and Hatley, Quebec. Without him his old school closed in 1852. He resumed duties as principal and pastor. Resigned as pastor in 1853. In October 1855 he suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed.- retired from teaching. Alexander died on 19th June 1857, aged 61. His house and the Athenian Hall are included in the Brownington Village Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sources Old Stone House Museum Timelines from Black History

Wangari Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel prize. In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement = an environmental no=governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation and women’s rights. The statement announcing her as winner of the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel committee said Maatha stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social economic and cultural development in Kenya and Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women’s rights in particular. Shae thinks globally and acts locally. Sources Remembering Remarkable Firsts During Black History Month Wikipedia

Booker Talisferro Washington (15th April 1856-14th November 1915) was the first African-American (A-A) to dine at the White House. He was an educator, author, orator and adviser to multiple presidents. Between 1890 and 1915 he was the dominant leader of the A-A community and the contemporary elite. He was one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. He mobilized a national coalition of middle-class blacks, church leaders and white philanthropists and politicians, In 1901 his second biographyUp From Slavery became best seller. In October 1901 he was invited by President Theodore Roosevelt to Washington to dine with him and his family at the White House. This was the first highly publicized occasion when an A-A was invited there on equal terms. His long term goal was to end the disenfranchisement (disappointment) of the vast majority of A-As who lived in the South. Source Wikipedia

William Edward Burhardt du Bois (23rd February 1868 - 27th August 1963) was an African-American (A-A) sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, author, writer and editor. He graduated from Berlin University. He was the first A-A to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. He was a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. He was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and editor of its official magazine The Crisis. He rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement - a group A-A activists that wanted equal rights for blacks. NAACP was founded on 12th February 1909 ( the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln who emancipated enslaved A-A)) by a group of A-As in response to the Springfield race Riots of Illinois in 1908 which highlighted the injustices that the black community were subjected to. On May 30th the conference of the Niagara Movement was held at New York’s Settlement House, De Bois helped organize the event and presided over the proceedings. They decided the purpose of the organization was To ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. The members chose the name NAACP and elected their first officers. De Bois was elected Director of Publicity and Research. In 2007 NAACP had approximately 425,000 paying and non-paying members In his role as editor of The Crisis a record of darker days - he published many influential pieces. I determine to make the opinion of the ‘Crisis’ a personal opinion. It was used for both news reporting and publishing A-A poetry and literature. In the campaign against lynching he encouraged the writing and performing of plays. The Crisis has been in continuous print since 1910. It is the oldest Black oriented magazine in the world. By 1918 it had over 100, 000 readers. It is a quarterly journal of civil rights, history, politic and culture and seeks to educate and challenge its readers about issues that continue to plague A-A and other colored communities ( See ‘The Crisis’ for 2 early covers) William was a prolific writer. *Dusk of Dawn* (1940), his first autobiography of 3, is regarded in part as one of the first scientific treatises in the field of American sociology. His cause included people of color, especially Africans and Asians. He believed that capitalism was a primary cause of racism, and he was generally sympathetic to socialist causes throughout his life. W.E.B. Du Bois, died, aged 95, in Accra, Ghana on 27th August 1963. The United States’ Civil Rights Act (1964) embodied many of the reforms for which he had campaigned his whole life, was enacted a year after his death. Wikipedia

I have put together information about 8 significant first Black History figures relating to the U.K. They have been set out in alphabetical order. Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930) was the first black man to become mayor in Britain - mayor of Thetford, Norfolk in 1904. Bill Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth (born 1938), generally known as Bill Morris, became the first black leader of a major British trade union - Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) (1992-2003). Eleanor Smith (born 1957) was the first British African- Caribbean person to become an M.P in Wolverhampton South West in 2017. A seat formally held by Enoch Powell for two decades. Ignatius Sancho (c.1729-1780) was a British abolitionist, writer and composer who was born on a slave ship in the Atlantic. In 1774 and 1780, once he had the status as a male property owner, meant he was legally able to vote in a general -election. He became known as the first Black Briton to have voted in Britain. Ira Aldridge (1807-1867)was and American and later British actor and playwright, is the only actor of African-American descent , among Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constaine MBE,(1901-1971), a former West Indian cricketer, lawyer and politician became the UK’s first black peer. He was knighted in 1962 and made a life peer in 1969. Mary Prince (1788-1833) her slave narrative The History of Mary Price (1831) was the first account of the life of a black woman to be published in the U.K. Paul Boateng (born 1951), a British Labour Party politician became the UK’s first black cabinet minister in May 2002. Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos (born 1954), a British party politician and diplomat became the first black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) woman on 12th May 2003 to serve as a cabinet minister. William Cuffay (1788-1870) was a Chartist leader in early Victorian times. He was mixed race - the son of an English woman- Juliana Fox and a father of African heritage who was previously enslaved and originally from Saint Kitts. He was only 1.5 metres tall. William by trade was a tailor. He rejected the Owenite trade unions of the London tailors. He helped form the Metropolitan Tailors’ Charter Association. He was elected first to the Chartist Metropolitan Delegate Council in 1841 and onto the National Executive in 1842. He chaired a Great Public Meeting of Tailors in February. After the leading Chartists were arrested in 1842 he became the interim president. Betrayed by a government spy he was arrested and accused of ‘conspiring to levy war’. He was found guilty and sentenced to 21 years penal transportation in Tasmania. Received a pardon after 3 years but stayed in Tasmania to work as a tailor. He died in poverty, aged 82, in July 1870. He was forgotten after his death in Australia and Britain. Media and interest rekindled in early 21st century. Some information included on all 10 from Wikipedia. (More at Black First U.K (second set of 10) .