1823 – Mary Ann Shadd Is Born
Born in Wilmington, Delaware on October 9, 1823, Mary Ann Shadd was a teacher, journalist, and leader of the Canadian emigration movement during the 1850s. Raised in an abolitionist household, she was the eldest child of Abraham and Harriett Shadd and received a Quaker education. Through her teaching and activism, Shadd joined others who promoted migration to places free of slavery, with Canada—then part of the British Empire—becoming a central destination.
In Chatham, Ontario, she taught before founding The Provincial Freeman in 1853, advocating racial and gender equality. After the Civil War, Shadd Cary returned to the U.S., earning a law degree from Howard University. She died in Washington, D.C. in 1893.
1895 – Eugene James “Jacques” Bullard Is Born
Eugene Jacques Bullard, born in Columbus, Georgia, on October 9, 1895, was the first African American combat aviator, famously called the “Black Swallow of Death.” After fleeing racial violence as a child, he traveled with a gypsy troupe and later stowed away to Europe, where he boxed and performed before settling in Paris. When World War I began, Bullard joined the French Foreign Legion, earning medals for bravery before becoming a pilot with the French Air Service.
Denied a place in U.S. aviation due to racism, Bullard remained in France, later owning nightclubs and spying on Germans during World War II. Honored as a French national hero, he died in Harlem in 1961.
1999 – Milton Jackson Passes Away
Milton “Milt” Jackson, nicknamed “Bags,” was born on January 1, 1923, in Detroit. A gifted musician, he began with guitar and piano before mastering the vibraphone. His big break came in 1945 when Dizzy Gillespie invited him to record, leading to collaborations with jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.
In 1952, Jackson co-founded the Modern Jazz Quartet, shaping its signature sound with his soulful style. He later pursued a solo career while composing jazz classics like “Bag’s Groove.” Widely regarded as one of the greatest vibraphonists, Jackson died of liver cancer on October 9, 1999 at age seventy-six.
