Courier Newsroom October 27, 2022
October 26
1749—The British parliament legalizes slavery in the American colony, which would become known as Georgia.
1806—Benjamin Banneker dies at 74. He had become a recognized inventor and scientist. He also completed the design and layout of Washington, D.C. after Pierre Charles L’Enfant returned to France.
1868—B.F. Randolph, a prominent Black politician in South Carolina after the Civil War, is assassinated. He was believed to have been killed by former Confederate soldiers seeking to re-establish White racist rule in the state via terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan.
1872—Inventor T. Marshal patents the fire extinguisher.
1911—Famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson is born (1911-1972) in New Orleans, La. She is generally considered to be the greatest gospel singer who ever lived.
October 27
1891—Inventor P.B. Downing patents the street letter mailbox whose basic design remains in use today. Not much is known about Downing.
1960—President John F. Kennedy intervenes to get Martin Luther King Jr. released from the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville where he had been imprisoned because of his civil rights activities. The Kennedy action endeared him to Black voters.
This article appears in its entirety at the Chicago Defender news website. It can be read here.
