James Meredith, the first black person admitted to the University of Mississippi, graduates on this day becoming the school’s first black graduate.

Archibald H. Grimke, diplomat, editor, and President of the NAACP’s Washington, D.C. chapter for 10 years, is born.

Peter Salem, a soldier who fought in the American Revolution at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Breed’s Hill, dies in Framingham, MA.

Cora M. Brown, the first black woman elected to a state senate, is appointed Special General Counsel of the United States Post Office Department.

Basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson is born.

The Baltimore Afro-American newspaper is founded.

Madame Lillian Evanti, internationally famed opera singer and founder of the National Negro Opera Company, is born.

Alex Haley, author of Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, is born.

Carrie Saxon Perry, the first black woman mayor of a major U.S. city (Hartford, CT), is born.

Jesse Owens wins his fourth Olympic Gold Medal in Berlin.