Timeline of
Black Firsts
A chronological record of the Black Americans who broke barriers across every field, from the first elected official in 1768 to the present day.
First Black Person Elected to Public Office
Wentworth Cheswell
Elected selectman in Newmarket, New Hampshire.
First Ordained Black Minister
Lemuel Haynes
Ordained in the Congregationalist tradition, also the first Black person to pastor a white congregation.
First Black Newspaper
Samuel Cornish & John Russwurm
Founded Freedom's Journal in New York City.
First Black American to Hold a Medical Degree
James McCune Smith
Earned his MD from the University of Glasgow after being denied admission to US medical schools.
First Black Person Admitted to the Bar
Macon B. Allen
Licensed to practice law in Maine, the first licensed Black attorney in the country.
First Black Woman to Receive an MD
Rebecca Lee Crumpler
Graduated from New England Female Medical College in Boston.
First Black U.S. Senator
Hiram Revels
Republican from Mississippi who filled the seat once held by Jefferson Davis.
First Black American to Earn a PhD
Edward Alexander Bouchet
Physics doctorate from Yale, the sixth person in the US to receive a physics PhD.
First Successful Open-Heart Surgery
Daniel Hale Williams
Performed the operation at Provident Hospital in Chicago, which he founded.
First Black Woman to Charter a U.S. Bank
Maggie Lena Walker
Founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia.
First Black American to Medal at the Olympics
George Poage
Won two bronze medals in hurdles at the St. Louis Games.
First Self-Made Female Millionaire
Madam C.J. Walker
Built a hair care empire and organized one of the first direct-sales networks in America.
First Black NFL Player and Head Coach
Fritz Pollard
Played running back and became co-head coach of the Akron Pros.
First Black Woman to Earn a Pilot's License
Bessie Coleman
Denied entry to US flight schools, she traveled to France and earned her license.
First Athlete to Win Four Gold Medals in One Olympics
Jesse Owens
Won the 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4x100m relay at the Berlin Games.
First Black Person to Win an Academy Award
Hattie McDaniel
Won Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind at a segregated ceremony.
First Black General in the U.S. Army
Benjamin O. Davis Sr.
Promoted to brigadier general after more than 40 years of service.
First Black Player in Modern Major League Baseball
Jackie Robinson
Debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
First Black Person to Win a Pulitzer Prize
Gwendolyn Brooks
Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Annie Allen.
First Black Player in the NBA
Earl Lloyd
Played for the Washington Capitols, beating Cooper and Clifton to the court by one day.
First Black Person to Win Wimbledon
Althea Gibson
Won Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, also the first Black player to compete there in 1951.
First Black NHL Player
Willie O'Ree
Debuted with the Boston Bruins while legally blind in one eye.
First Black Man to Win Best Actor Oscar
Sidney Poitier
Won for Lilies of the Field, also the first Black actor to be a top box-office draw.
First Black U.S. Cabinet Secretary
Robert C. Weaver
Appointed by President Johnson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
First Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall
Appointed by President Johnson after winning 29 of 32 cases before the Court as a civil rights attorney.
First Black American in Space
Guion S. Bluford Jr.
Mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-8.
First Black Person Elected Governor
Douglas Wilder
Democrat from Virginia, a breakthrough given the state's history with segregation.
First Black Woman in Space
Mae C. Jemison
Mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, orbiting Earth 127 times.
First Black Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Literature
Toni Morrison
Author of Beloved, Song of Solomon, and other canonical works.
First Black Person to Win the Masters
Tiger Woods
Won by 12 strokes at age 21, going on to win 15 major championships.
First Black Billionaire
Robert L. Johnson
Founded BET in 1980 and sold it to Viacom for $3 billion.
First Black Head Coach to Win the Super Bowl
Tony Dungy
Led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI.
First Black President of the United States
Barack Obama
44th President, winning the election after serving as senator from Illinois.
First Black Woman CEO of a Fortune 500 Company
Ursula Burns
Led Xerox Corporation, rising from a summer internship to the top.
First Black Vice President
Kamala Harris
Also the first woman and first South Asian to serve as Vice President.
First Black Woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Appointed by President Biden, confirmed by the Senate in April 2022.
First Black Astronaut Candidate Finally Reaches Space
Ed Dwight
Passed over in 1963, he flew to space at age 90 on a Blue Origin flight.