For iPhone:   Harvard University economics professor Roland G. Fryer, Jr. endured a tough childhood full of crime and dysfunction to become the youngest Black person to earn tenure at the prestigious school. Fryer was born in Daytona Beach, Fla. on June 4, 1977. His mother, Rita, was a classically trained musician and his father […]

William S. Scarborough was born a slave in Georgia, but went on to become one of the nation’s leading scholars in Greek and Latin literature. In fact, many consider Scarborough to be the first African-American classical scholar. Born in February 16, 1852, in Macon, Georgia, Scarborough’s father was a freed slave but his mother was […]

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D in the United States. She was also the first woman to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania law school, while holding a M.A. in Economics from Penn as well. Ms. Mosell Alexander was born in Philadelphia January 2, 1898. […]