The Free Africa Society is organized in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania.

Gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson dies in Evergreen Park, Illinois.

Leontyne Price made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York City.

The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.

Dr. Theodore K. Lawless, dermatologist, is awarded the Springarn Medal for his research in skin-related diseases.

Angela Davis, political activist and educator, is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Constance Baker Motley becomes the first African-American woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship.

National Afro-American League, a pioneering black protest organization, is founded in Chicago.

Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth addresses the first Black Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

Tom Bradley, four-term mayor of Los Angeles, receives the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for public service.