This Week in History, July 4-10:
Contributions of African-Americans
   
Note: Here, learn about some of the African-Americans who have influenced history and contributed to the culture we now enjoy. To learn more about each individual, click on that person's name. Information for "This Week in History" is taken from the African American Registry.

July 4
On this day in 1864, African-American physician, professor, author, and activist Charles Roman was born. Though his right leg was amputated when he was young, he went on to a brilliant medical career, serving as the fifth president of the National Medical Association. Also on this day in 1812, John Jasper was born. One of the great slave preachers, he once baptized 300 people in four hours.

July 5
On this day in 1899, Anna Hedgeman was born. The first Black woman to serve on the mayoral cabinet in New York City, she is personally credited with recruiting 40,000 Protestant Church members for the March on Washington in 1963.

July 6
On this day in 1920, African-American inventor Otis Boykin was born. He invented the electrical device used in all guided missiles and IBM computers, and invented the control unit for pacemakers. Also on this day in 1917, Jimmy Griffin was born; he became the first Black deputy chief of police in St. Paul, Minnesota.

July 7
On this day in 1915, novelist and poet Margaret Walker was born. With works based on her family's history, she became one of the leading Black women writers of the mid-20th century.

July 8
On this day in 1855, physician, dentist, and educator Robert Boyd was born. Dedicating his career to serving the underprivileged, he made some of the earliest and most astute observations about the physical condition and causes of early mortality among Blacks.

July 9
On this day in 1955, E. Frederic Morrow became the first African-American to serve in an executive position on a United States president's cabinet in the White House.

July 10
On this day in 1875, civil rights pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune was born. The consultant on interracial affairs and understanding at the charter conference of the United Nations, she was Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration and served as a consultant to the U.S. Secretary of War for the selection of the first Black female officer candidates. Also on this day in 1893, surgeon Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery—without anesthesia—at Provident Hospital, a Black-owned and operated facility.