* Today in Black History - January 18 * 1856 - Dr. Daniel Nathan Hale Williams is born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He will graduate from Chicago Medical College in 1883 and begin his practice on Chicago's South Side. After 8 years of frustration, not being able to use the facilities at the white hospitals in Chicago, he will found Provident Hospital in 1891 and open it to patients of all races. He will make his mark in medical history on July 10, 1893, when he becomes the first African American surgeon to perform a successful open heart surgery. He will join the ancestors on August 4, 1931 after succumbing to a stroke. 1896 - British troops occupy Kumasi, West Africa. The Ashanti turned down an unofficial offer to become a British protectorate in 1891, extending to 1894. The British also wanted to establish a British resident in Kumasi. The Ashanti King Prempeh refused to surrender his sovereignty. Because the British wanted to keep French and German forces out of Ashanti territory (and its gold), the British were anxious to conquer the Ashanti once and for all. The Ashanti sent a delegation to London offering concessions on its gold, cocoa and rubber trade as well as submission to the crown. The British however had already made its mind up on a military solution. 1944 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers will include Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton. 1948 - The first courses begin at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. 1949 - Congressman William Dawson is elected chairman of the House Expenditure Committee. He is the first African American to head a standing committee of Congress. 1958 - Willie Eldon O'Ree becomes the first person of African descent to play in the National Hockey League, when he debuts with the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 win over Montreal in the Forum. 1961 - Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi party wins 1 seat by a single vote and control Parliament by a single seat. 1962 - Southern University is closed because of demonstrations protesting the expulsion of student sit-in activists. 1966 - Robert C. Weaver takes the oath of office as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Weaver becomes the first African American to serve in a U.S. President's Cabinet. 1972 - Garfield Todd, former Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia and his daughter Judith, supporters of black majority rule in the country, are arrested. 1973 - The Boston Red Sox sign Orlando Cepeda. He will become the first player to sign a contract to exclusively play as a designated hitter. 1975 - "The Jeffersons," one of the first TV shows about an African American family, is seen for the first time. The Jeffersons, who move to Manhattan's posh East Side, are the former neighbors of the Bunkers in the sitcom "All in the Family." The Jeffersons will be the first show to introduce the subject of mixed marriages humorously and tastefully in prime time TV. Sherman Hemsley plays George Jefferson and Isabelle Sanford the role of Louise, his wife. 1989 - Otis Redding, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 1990 - The South African government announces that it is reconsidering a ban on the African National Congress. 1990 - Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry is arrested for allegedly purchasing and using crack cocaine in a Washington, DC hotel room. The circumstances surrounding his arrest, trial, and subsequent conviction on one count of misdemeanor cocaine possession will be hotly debated by African American and white citizens of the District and elsewhere. 1993 - The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is observed in all 50 states for the first time. 1995 - South African President Nelson Mandela's cabinet denies amnesty sought by 3,500 police officers in apartheid's waning days. 1998 - The Boston Celtics retire Robert Parrish's jersey #00. 2000 - Jester Hairston, who appeared on radio and TV's "Amos 'n' Andy," but who was better known to younger fans as the wise old church member Rolly on the sitcom "Amen," joins the ancestors in Los Angeles, California at the age of 98. 2002 - The Sierra Leone Civil War is finally declared over. ______________________________________________________________ Munirah Chronicle is edited by Mr. Rene' A. Perry "The TRUTH shall make you free" E-mail: <[log in to unmask]> Archives: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/Munirah.html http://blackagenda.com/cybercolonies/index.htm _____________________________________________________________ To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name ______________________________________________________________ Munirah(TM) is a trademark of Information Man. Copyright 1997 - 2016, All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with The Black Agenda.