Today in Black History: August 1st
1879 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, First Black Graduate Nurse
Mary Eliza Mahoney, born on May 7, 1845, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was America’s first Black graduate nurse. After moving north with her family to escape racial discrimination, she began working as a nurse at 20 and supported herself with janitorial work at the New England Hospital for Women and Children.
In 1878, Mahoney entered and completed the hospital’s rigorous nursing program in 1879, becoming the first African American to graduate as a nurse. She worked privately for four decades, serving Boston’s elite due to racial barriers in public nursing.
A pioneer in nursing, Mahoney was honored by the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and received the Mary Mahoney Medal posthumously. She died on January 4, 1926, at age 81.
1930 – Geoffrey Lamont Holder Is Born
Geoffrey Lamont Holder, born on August 1, 1930, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was a celebrated and versatile artist. Renowned as a choreographer, actor, Tony Award-winning director, costume designer, singer, composer, voice-over artist, orator, painter, sculptor, and photographer, Holder’s talents spanned multiple disciplines. Encouraged by his family, especially his older brother Boscoe, he began dancing and painting at a young age.
Holder gained international recognition after moving to New York in 1954, where he supported himself by teaching and performing. His notable early work included a role in the musical House of Flowers and performances with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He earned acclaim for his choreography and direction, winning Tony Awards for The Wiz (1975) and Timbuktu! (1978). Holder’s film and television career featured roles in Doctor Doolittle (1967), Live and Let Die (1973), and Annie (1982). Over a career spanning more than 70 years, Holder’s work often highlighted African and European themes. He passed away on October 5, 2014, in Manhattan at age 84.
2009 – Naomi Ruth Sims Passes Away
Naomi Ruth Sims, born March 30, 1948, in Oxford, Mississippi, was the first African-American supermodel. After facing racial prejudice in modeling, she broke through by working directly with photographers and joining Wilhelmina Models. By 1970, she gained international fame, including a Life magazine cover.
Sims retired from modeling in 1973 to create a successful beauty empire and authored several books. She married art dealer Michael Findlay in 1973, had a son, and later revealed her struggle with bipolar disorder. Sims died of breast cancer on August 1, 2009, in Newark, New Jersey.
