21 October-Today's All facts
1986 - George Alcorn patents fabrication of spectrometer

Patent # 4,618,380 George E. Alcorn (Reston, VA) patents method of fabricating an imaging X-ray spectrometer.

1994 - Dexter King named Chief Executive of SCLC

ON this date in 1994, Dexter Scott King, youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, is named head of Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

1994 - Charles Edward Anderson dies.

On this date in 1994, Charles Edward Anderson the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Meteorology; dies. In 1960, Charles Edward Anderson earned a Ph.D. in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts.

1989 - Bertram M. Lee and Peter C.B. Bynoe purchase the Denver Nuggets

On this date in 1989, Bertram M. Lee and Peter C.B. Bynoe sign an agreement to purchase the National Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets for $54 million. They become the first African American owners of a professional basketball team.

1980 - Valerie Thomas invents the illusion transmitter

On this date in 1980, Valerie Thomas invented the illusion transmitter. Patent #US4229761.

1979 - The Black Fashion Museum is opened in Harlem.

On this date in 1979, The Black Fashion Museum is opened in Harlem by Lois Alexander to highlight the achievements and contributions of African Americans to fashion.

1950 - Earl Lloyd, First to play in NBA game.

On this date in 1950, The first NBA Black Assistant Coach and first Black chief scout, Earl Lloyd, becomes the first Black person to play in an NBA game (beating out Charles Cooper and Nat Clifton by a day)

1917 - Dizzy Gillespie born.

On this date in 1917, Dizzy Gillespie, trumpeter & pioneer of ‘behop’ jazz was born.

1872 - John H Conyers enters Naval Academy.

On this date in 1872, John H Conyers becomes the first African American to enter the US Naval Academy.

1865 - George William Gordon, is unfairly arrested and sentence to death.

On this date in 1865, Jamaican national hero, George William Gordon, is unfairly arrested and sentenced to death.