African American Marylanders
Compiled below is a listing of prominent Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century African Americans with ties to Maryland. For further information about these individuals, as well as other African Americans and their achievements, a select listing of reference sources is provided.
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century African Americans
|
| Aldridge, Ira |
Actor |
1807 - 1867 |
| Banneker, Benjamin |
Inventor, Mathematician |
1731 - 1806 |
| Blair, Henry |
Inventor |
1804 - 1860 |
| Coker, Daniel |
Activist, Colonizationist, Educator, Minister |
1780 - 1846 |
| Dorsey, Decatur |
Army Officer, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient |
1840 - 1914 |
| Douglass, Frederick |
Abolitionist, Educator |
1817 - 1895 |
| Fleetwood, Christian |
Army Officer, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Editor |
1840 - 1914 |
| Garnet, Henry Highland |
Minister |
1815 - 1882 |
| Harper, Francis Ellen Watkins |
Novelist, Poet, Abolitionist |
1825 - 1911 |
| Henson, Josiah |
Minister |
1789 - 1883 |
| Johns(t)on, Joshua |
Portrait Painter |
c.1765 - 1830 |
| Lange, Mary Elizabeth |
Founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence |
c.1784 - 1882 |
| Myers, Isaac |
Businessman, Pioneer labor Leader |
1835 - 1891 |
| Payne, Daniel A. |
Clergyman, Church Historian, Educator |
1811 - 1893 |
| Pennington, James W.C. |
Abolitionist, Clergyman, Teacher |
1807 - 1870 |
| Smith, Amanda Berry |
Educator, Evangelist |
1837 - 1915 |
| Still, William Grant |
Composer |
1895 - 1978 |
| Tubman, Harriet |
Abolitionist, Nurse, Social Reformer, Spy |
c.1821 - 1913 |
| Ward, Samuel Ringgold |
Abolitionist, Journalist |
c.1817 ‑ 1864 |
| Watkins, William Sr. |
Abolitionist, Educator |
1801 - 1858 |
|
Twentieth Century African Americans
|
| Baines, Harold |
Athlete/Baseball |
1959 - |
| Blake, Eubie |
Musician |
1883 - 1983 |
| Brown, Anne Wiggins |
Singer |
1915 - |
| Calloway, Cab |
Band Leader, Entertainer |
1908 - 1994 |
| Carson, Benjamin |
Surgeon |
1951 - |
| Chapman, Nathan A. Jr, |
Investor |
1958 - |
| Clifton, Lucille |
Author/Poet |
1936 - |
| Cummings, Elijah |
Politician |
1951- |
| Curbeam, Robert |
Astronaut |
1962 - |
| Dawes, Dominique |
Athlete/Gymnastics |
1976 - |
| Day, Leon |
Athlete/Baseball |
1916 - 1995 |
| Du Bois, W.E.B. |
Educator |
1868 - 1963 |
| Dutton, Charles |
Actor |
1951 - |
| Elder, Clarence L. |
Researcher, inventor |
1935 - |
| Ennis, Ethel |
Musician |
1932 - |
| Evans, Damon |
Actor |
1950 - |
| Fax, Elton C. |
Artist, Author, Lecturer |
1909 - 1993 |
| Gans, Joe |
Athlete/Boxing |
1874 - 1910 |
| Henson, Matthew |
Explorer |
1866 - 1955 |
| Holiday, Billie |
Musician |
1915 - 1959 |
| Hrabowski, Freeman A. III |
Educator |
1950 - |
| Jackson, Lillie M. Carroll |
Civil Rights Activist |
1889 - 1975 |
| Jackson, Reggie |
Athlete/Baseball |
1946 - |
| Lacy, Sam |
Journalist |
1903 - 2003 |
| Larkins, Ellis |
Musician, Piano |
1923 - |
| Leonard, Sugar Ray |
Athlete/Boxing |
1956 - |
| Lewis, James E. |
Artist |
1923 - 1997 |
| Lewis, Reginald F. |
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist |
1942 - 1993 |
| Long, Avon |
Actor, Dancer, Singer |
1910 - 1984 |
| Marshall, Thurgood |
Attorney, Jurist |
1908 - 1993 |
| McKenzie, Vashti |
AME Bishop, Minister |
1947 - |
| McMillan, Enolia P. |
Activist, Educator |
1904 - 2006 |
| McNeil, Claudia |
Actress, Singer |
1917 - 1993 |
| Mfume, Kwiesi |
Civil Rights Activist, Politician |
1948 - |
| Mitchell, Parren |
Politician |
1922 - |
| Mitchell, Clarence M. Jr. |
Politician |
1911 - 1984 |
| Mitchell, Juanita Jackson |
Attorney, Civil Rights Activist |
1913 - 1992 |
| Moore, Lenny |
Athlete/Football |
1933 - |
| Murphy, Carl |
Journalist |
1889 - 1967 |
| Murray, Pauli |
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Priest |
1910 - 1985 |
| Muse, Clarence |
Actor, Director, Singer |
1889 - 1979 |
| Peters, Cortez W. Sr. |
Typist, Founder of Business School |
1906 - 1964 |
| Porter, James Amos |
Artist, Author |
1905 - 1970 |
| Quarles, Benjamin A. |
Historian |
1904 - 1996 |
| Rollins, Howard |
Actor |
1950 - 1996 |
| Schmoke, Kurt L. |
Attorney, Politician |
1949 - |
| Scott, Joyce |
Artist |
1948 - |
| Smith, Mary Carter |
Griot |
1919 - |
| Smith, Jada Pinkett |
Actress |
1971 - |
| Unseld, Westley |
Athlete/Basketball |
1946 - |
| Watkins, Levi, Jr. |
Physician, Surgeon |
1944 - |
| Webb, Chick |
Musician |
1909 - 1939 |
| Welcome, Verda |
Politician |
1907 - 1991 |
| Williams, Montel |
Television Personality |
1956? - |
| Winfrey, Oprah |
Television Personality |
1954 - |
Selected references for additional African American biographies
Burkett, Randall K., Nancy Hall Burkett and Henry Louis Gates Jr., eds. Black Biography 1970 - 1950: A Cumulative Index. 3 volumes. Alexandria: Chadwyck-Healey, 1991. (E185.96 B52 1990q)
Hine, Darlene Clark, ed. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. 2 vols. New York: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1993. (E185.86 .B542 1993Q)
Logan, Rayford W. and Michael R. Winston. Dictionary of American Negro Biography. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1982. (E185.96 .L6q 1982)
Smith, Jessie Carney, ed. Notable Black American Men. Detroit: Gale, 1998. (E185.86 .N68 1999q)
Smith, Jessie Carney, ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991. (E185.96 .N68 1992q)
Smith, Jessie Carney, ed. Notable Black American Women Book II. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. (E185.96 .N682 1996q)
