Black History : Today In Black History

Percy Lavon Julian 115th Birthday
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was a U.S. research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants.[1] He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine, and a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work would lay the foundation for the steroid dru...g industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam. His work helped greatly reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to large multinational pharmaceutical companies, ............... have been nominated for the Nobel Prize

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Perhaps it is the natural steroid from our Yams here that contributed to the high rate of twins among Yoruba.
:)
 
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KNOW YOUR HISTORY: Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.





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June 3, 1871 Miles Vandahurst Lynk, pioneering physician, was born in Brownsville, Tennessee. In 1888, Lynk took a job teaching in Black rural schools to earn money to further his education. In 1891, he earned a medical degree from Meharry Medical College and in 1892 founded The Medical and Surgical Observer, the first national medical journal for Black physicians. The monthly journal was published until 1894, focusing on Black medical issues and offering the latest information available on treatments and professional ethics. Lynk was one of the twelve founders of the National Association of Colored Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists, predecessor to the National Medical Association, in 1895. In 1900, Lynk founded the University of West Tennessee, a Black university that taught medicine, dentistry, and law that operated until 1924. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Medical Association in 1952. Lynk died December 29, 1957. The Tennessee Historical Commission erected a historical marker near his home in Brownsville to commemorate his life.

http://thewright.org/explore/blog/tags/tag/today-in-black-history


TENNESSEE HISTORY Classroom
FULL HISTORY STORIES

Dr. Miles V. Lynk


http://www.tennesseehistory.com/class/Lynk.htm
 
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I Love Being Black with Yvonne Miller and 10 others
‪#‎BlackHistory365‬ ‪#‎OurStory‬ ‪#‎Hero‬
May 12, 1862: Robert Smalls steals a Confederate ship... Read the story below...
It has just gotten dark on the even...ing of May 12, 1862. General Roswell Ripley and the other white confederate officers of the Steamer Planter have just gone ashore to attend a party in Charleston, leaving the black crew alone. This was not unusual except that the crew had planned on these events. Quickly, the black crew's families left their hiding places on other vessels and came aboard the Planter.
Robert Smalls was the quartermaster, or wheelman of the ship. In this capacity he had become knowledgeable of all navigation channels in Charleston harbor as well as all the gun and troop positions of the confederate armies guarding the harbor. Smalls and the other slaves quietly got the ship underway and headed for the mouth of the harbor and the blockading Union fleet. Soon they would have to pass under the guns of Fort Sumter. To increase their chances of success, Smalls donned the clothing of Planter's confederate captain. The trick apparently worked because they are not fired upon until after they are out of range.
Planter eventually approached the U.S.S. Onward, of the blockading fleet to surrender. She brought with her a 24-pound howitzer, a 32-pound pivot gun, a 7-inch rifle and 4 smooth-bore cannons. Planter had served as headquarters ship for General Ripley and was a valuable ship because she could carry as many as one thousand troops and her shallow draft gave her freedom throughout much of the coastal waters.
Robert Smalls had been born on the Sea Islands and knew the waters from Beaufort, South Carolina to Florida. Together they were important prizes for the Union. For the Benefit of Robert Smalls and Others..... Generally, any enemy ships taken in this manner are treated as prizes for the men who performed the courageous act. Commander Du Pont submitted the claim's for these men to Washington despite his misgivings that they would be honored. Since these men had been slaves and the Dred Scott Decision said they were merely contraband, it took a special act of congress to award the ship as a prize, and even so it was valued at $9168, or 1/3 it's true value.
Robert Smalls was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, Company B, 33rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops. He was then detailed as Pilot to the Planter. Later Smalls was assigned to the ironclad Keokuk for an attack into Charleston Harbor. Things soon went awry and the order of battle was abandoned, each ship fighting for itself. Keokuk eventually suffered over 90 shell hits and was soon sent to the bottom. Smalls survived and was transferred back to Planter.
In late November of 1863, Planter saw action that prompted it's white captain to surrender. Smalls knew he could expect extremely poor treatment from the confederates and instead urged the gunners to carry on. The captain took cover in the coal bin for the duration of the battle while the crew fought on under Smalls' leadership. This action prompted the dismissal of the captain of record and the promotion of Robert Smalls to the position of Captain.
Immediately following the war, Smalls returned to his native Beaufort, where he purchased his former master's house at 512 Prince St. His mother Lydia lived with him for the remainder of her life. He allowed his former master's wife (Jane Bond McKee, who was elderly) to move back in the home prior to her death.
Robert Smalls eventually became a congressman after the Civil War. He lived in Beaufort, SC. There is a memorial bust of him in front of the African Baptist Church in Beaufort, SC.



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