List Of African American Firsts

African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier".

One commonly cited example is that of Jackie Robinson, who became the first African-American of the modern era to become a Major League Baseball player in 1947, ending 60 years of segregated Negro leagues.

17th century

1670s

1670

* First African-American to own land in Boston: Zipporah Potter Atkins

18th century

1730s–1770s

1738

* First free African-American community: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (later named Fort Mose) in Spanish Florida

1746

* First known African-American (and slave) to compose a work of literature: Lucy Terry with her poem "Bars Fight", composed in 1746🖉 and first published in 1855 in Josiah Holland's "History of Western Massachusetts

1760

* First known African-American published author: Jupiter Hammon (poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries", published as a broadside)

1767

* First African-American clockmaker, Peter Hill, was born.

1768

* First known African-American to be elected to public office: Wentworth Cheswell, town constable in Newmarket, New Hampshire.

1773

* First known African-American woman to publish a book: Phillis Wheatley (''Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral'')
* First separate African-American church: Silver Bluff Baptist Church, Aiken County, South CarolinaThis claim is contested by the First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia (1774) and the First Colored Baptist Church, renamed First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (recognized 1788, first congregation 1773).

1775

* First African-American to join the Freemasons: Prince Hall

1778

* First African-American U.S. military regiment: the 1st Rhode Island Regiment

1780s–1790s

1783

* First African-American to formally practice medicine: James Derham, who did not hold an M.D. degree. (See also: 1847)

1785

* First African-American ordained as a Christian minister in the United States: Rev. Lemuel Haynes. He was ordained in the Congregational Church, which became the United Church of Christ

1792

* First major African-American Back-to-Africa movement: 3,000 Black Loyalist slaves, who had escaped to British lines during the American Revolutionary War for the promise of freedom, were relocated to Nova Scotia and given land. Later, 1,200 chose to migrate to West Africa and settle in the new British colony of Settler Town, which is present-day Sierra Leone.

1793

* First African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church founded: Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded by Richard Allen

1794

* First African Episcopal Church established: Absalom Jones founded African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19th century

1800s

1804

* First African-American ordained as an Episcopal priest: Absalom Jones in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1807

* First African-American Presbyterian Church in America
First African Presbyterian Church
founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by John Gloucester a former slave.

1810s

1816

* Richard Allen founded the first fully independent African-American denomination: African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic states

1817

* The First African Baptist Church was the first African-American church west of the Mississippi River. It had its beginnings in 1817 when John Mason Peck and the former enslaved John Berry Meachum began holding church services for African Americans in St. Louis. Meachum founded the First African Baptist Church in 1827. Although there were ordinances preventing blacks from assembling, the congregation grew from 14 people at its founding to 220 people by 1829. Two hundred of the parishioners were slaves, who could only travel to the church and attend services with the permission of their owners.

1820s

1821

* First African-American to hold a patent: Thomas L. Jennings, for a dry-cleaning process

1822

* First African-American captain to sail a whaleship with an all-black crew: Absalom Boston

there were 6 black owners of 7 whaling trips before Absalom Boston's in 1822. https://www.skipfinley.com/ Whaling Captains of Color - America's First Meritocracy, US Naval Institute Press, 2019; pg. 47 - 51; pg. 166 - 168

1823

* First African-American to receive a degree from an American college: Alexander Twilight, Middlebury College (See also: 1836)

1827

* First African-American owned-and-operated newspaper: ''Freedom's Journal'', founded in New York City by Rev. Peter Williams Jr. and other free blacks.

1830s

1832

* First governor of African descent in what is now the US: Pío Pico, an Afro-Mexican, was the last governor of Alta California before it was ceded to the US. Like all Californios, Pico automatically became a US citizen in 1848.

1836

* First African-American elected to serve in a state legislature: Alexander Twilight, Vermont (See also: 1823)
* First African-American to found a town and establish a planned community: Free Frank McWorter ( New Philadelphia, Illinois)

1837

* First formally trained African-American medical doctor: Dr James McCune Smith of New York City, who was educated at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and returned to practice in New York. (See also: 1783, 1847)

1840s

1845

* First African-American licensed to practice law: Macon Allen from the Boston bar

1847

* First African-American to graduate from a U.S. medical school: Dr. David J. Peck (Rush Medical College) (See also: 1783, 1837)
* First African-American president of any nation: Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Liberia

1849

* First African-American college professor at a predominantly white institution: Charles L. Reason, New York Central College

1850s

1851

* First African-American member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): Patrick Francis Healy (See also: 1866, 1874)

1853

* First novel published by an African-American: '' Clotel; or, The President's Daughter'', by William Wells Brown, then living in London.Because it was published in the U.K., the book is not the first African-American novel published in the United States. This credit goes to one of two disputed books: Harriet Wilson's ''Our Nig'' (1859), brought to light by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in 1982; or Julia C. Collins' ''The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride'' (1865), brought to light by William L. Andrews, an English literature professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mitch Kachun, a history professor at Western Michigan University, in 2006. Andrews and Kachun document ''Our Nig'' as a novelized autobiography, and argue that ''The Curse of Caste'' is the first fully fictional novel by an African American to be published in the U.S.

1854

* First African-American Catholic priest: James Augustine Healy (see 1875 and 1886)
* First institute of higher learning created to educate African-Americans: Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania, renamed Lincoln University in 1866. (See also firsts in 1863)

1858

* First published play by an African-American: ''The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom'' by William Wells Brown
* First African-American woman college instructor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early, Wilberforce College
* First African-American woman to graduate from a medical course of study at an American university: Sarah Mapps Douglass
* First African-American Missionary Bishop of Liberia: Francis Burns of Windham, N.Y. of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

1860s

1861

* First North American military unit with African-American officers: 1st Louisiana Native Guard of the Confederate Army
* First African-American US federal government civil servant: William Cooper Nell

1862

* First African-American woman to earn a B.A.: Mary Jane Patterson, Oberlin College
* First recognized U.S. Army African-American combat unit: 1st South Carolina Volunteers

1863

* First college owned and operated by African-Americans: Wilberforce University in OhioFounded earlier; not fully owned and operated by African-Americans until 1863. (See also: 1854)
* First African-American president of a college: Bishop Daniel Payne (Wilberforce University)

1864

* First African-American woman in the United States to earn an M.D.: Dr. Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler

1865

* First African-American field officer in the U.S. Army: Martin Delany
* First African-American attorney admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court: John Stewart Rock
* First African-American to be commissioned as captain in the Regular U.S. Army: Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall, known as OSB Wall

1866

* First African-American to earn a Ph.D.: Father Patrick Francis Healy from University of Leuven, Belgium (See also 1851, 1874)
* First African-American woman enlistee in the U.S. Army: Cathay Williams
* First African-American woman to serve as a professor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early; Xenia, Ohio's Wilberforce University hired her to teach Latin and English

1868

* First elected African-American Lieutenant Governor: Oscar Dunn (Louisiana).
* First African-American mayor: Pierre Caliste Landry, Donaldsonville, Louisiana
* First African-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: John Willis Menard. His opponent contested his election, and opposition to his election prevented him from being seated in Congress. (See also: 1870)

1869

* First African-American U.S. diplomat: Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, minister to Haiti
* First African-American woman school principal: Fanny Jackson Coppin (Institute for Colored Youth)
* First African-American to receive a dental degree and become a dentist: Robert Tanner Freeman

1870s

1870

* First African-American to vote in an election under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting voting rights regardless of race: Thomas Mundy Peterson
* First African-American to graduate from Harvard College: Richard Theodore Greener.
* First African-American elected to the U.S. Senate, and first to serve in the U.S. Congress: Hiram Rhodes Revels ( R– MS).Revels, the Mississippi State Senate's Adams County representative, was elected by the U.S. Senate in January 1870 to fill an unexpired term.
* First African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives: Joseph Rainey (R- SC).Rainey, a South Carolina state senator, was elected to fill the seat vacated by B. Franklin Whittemore. Rainey took his seat on December 12, 1870. John Willis Menard was actually the first African-American elected to the House (1868) but he was denied his seat.
* First African-American acting governor: Oscar James Dunn of Louisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (See also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)

1871

* First African-American page in the United States House of Representatives: Alfred Q. Powell, who was appointed in 1871 by Charles H. Porter (R-VA), with recommendations from William Henry Harrison Stowell (R-VA) and James H. Platt Jr. (R-VA).

1872

* First African-American midshipman admitted to the United States Naval Academy: John H. Conyers (nominated by Robert B. Elliott of South Carolina).
* First African-American governor (non-elected): P. B. S. Pinchback of Louisiana (See also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)
* First African-American nominee for Vice President of the United States: Frederick Douglass by the Equal Rights Party.Douglass did not seek the nomination or campaign after being nominated.

1873

* First African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, and of any state legislature: John R. Lynch

1874

* First African-American president of a major college/university: Father Patrick Francis Healy, S.J. of Georgetown College. (See also: 1851, 1863, 1866)
* First African-American to preside over the House of Representatives as Speaker ''pro tempore'': Joseph Rainey

1875

* First African-American Roman Catholic bishop: Bishop James Augustine Healy, of Portland, Maine. (See also: 1854)

1876

* First African-American to earn a doctorate degree from an American university: Edward Alexander Bouchet (Yale College Ph.D., physics; also first African-American to graduate from Yale, 1874). (See also: 1866)

1877

* First African-American graduate of West Point and first African-American commissioned officer in the U.S. military: Henry Ossian Flipper.
* First African-American elected to Phi Beta Kappa, George Washington Henderson.

1878

* First African-American police officer in Boston, Massachusetts: Sergeant Horatio J. Homer.
* First African-American baseball player in organized professional baseball: John W. "Bud" Fowler.

1879

* First African-American to graduate from a formal nursing school: Mary Eliza Mahoney, Boston, Massachusetts.
* First African-American to play major league baseball: Possibly William Edward White; he played as a substitute in one professional baseball game for the Providence Grays of the National League, on June 21, 1879. Work by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) suggests that he may have been the first African-American to play major league baseball, predating the longer careers of Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy Walker by five years; and Jackie Robinson by 68 years.

1880s

1880

* First African-American to command a U.S. ship: Captain Michael Healy.
* First African-American world champion in pedestrianism, a 19th-century forerunner to racewalking and ultramarathons: Frank Hart.

1881

* First African-American whose signature appeared on U.S. paper currency: Blanche K. Bruce, Register of the Treasury.

1882

* First fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for African-Americans: Virginia State University

1883

* First known African-American woman to graduate from one of the Seven Sisters colleges: Hortense Parker (Mount Holyoke College)
*First African-American woman to earn a PhD. Nettie Craig-Asberry June 12, 1883 earns her doctoral degree in music from the University of Kansas one month shy of her 18th birthday.

1884

* First African-American to play professional baseball at the major-league level: Possibly Moses Fleetwood Walker, but see also William Edward White in 1879. (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1947)
* First African-American woman to hold a patent: Judy W. Reed, for an improved dough kneader, Washington, D.C.
* First African-American to enlist in the U.S. Signal Corps: William Hallett Greene
* First African-American to lead a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.
* First African-American to deliver a keynote address at a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.

1886

* First Roman Catholic priest publicly known at the time to be African-American: Augustine Tolton, Quincy and Chicago, Illinois (See also: 1854)

1890s

1890

* First African-American woman to earn a dental degree in the United States: Ida Rollins, University of Michigan.
* First African-American to record a best-selling phonograph record: George Washington Johnson, "The Laughing Song" and "The Whistling Coon."
*First woman and African-American to earn a military pension for their own military service: Ann Bradford Stokes.

1891

* First African-American police officer in present-day New York City: Wiley Overton, hired by the Brooklyn Police Department prior to 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York. (See also: Samuel J. Battle, 1911)

1892

* First African-American to sing at Carnegie Hall: Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones
* First African-American named to a College Football All-America Team: William H. Lewis, Harvard University

1895

* First African-American woman to work for the United States Postal Service: Mary Fields
* First African-American to earn a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) from Harvard University: W.E.B. Du Bois

1898

* First African-American appointed to serve as U.S. Army Paymaster: Richard R. Wright

1899

* First African-American to achieve world championship in any sport: Major Taylor, for 1-mile track cycling

20th century

1900s

1901

* First African-American invited to dine at the White House: Booker T. Washington

1902

* First African-American professional basketball player: Harry Lew (New England Professional Basketball League) (See also: 1950)
* First African-American professional American football player: Charles Follis
* First African-American boxing champion: Joe Gans, a lightweight (See also: 1908)

1903

* First Broadway musical written by African-Americans, and the first to star African-Americans: ''In Dahomey''
* First African-American woman to found and become president of a bank: Maggie L. Walker, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank (since 1930 the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company), Richmond, Virginia

1904

* First Greek-letter fraternal organization founded by African-Americans: Sigma Pi Phi
* First African-American to participate in the Olympic Games, and first to win a medal: George Poage (two bronze medals)

1906

* First intercollegiate Greek-letter organization founded by African-Americans: Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ), at Cornell University

1907

* First African-American Greek Orthodox priest and missionary in America: Very Rev. Fr. Robert Josias Morgan

1908

* First African-American heavyweight boxing champion: Jack Johnson (See also: 1902)
* First African-American Olympic gold medal winner: John Taylor (track and field medley relay team). (See also: DeHart Hubbard, 1924)
* First intercollegiate Greek-letter sorority established by African-Americans: Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) at Howard University

1910s

1910

* First African-American female millionaire: Madam C. J. Walker
* First African-American woman to be recorded commercially: Daisy Tapley (Recording source- Library of Congress)

1911

* First intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity founded by African-Americans at a historically black college: Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ), at Howard University
* First African-American police officer in New York City: Samuel J. Battle, following the 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York, and the hiring of three African-American officers in the Brooklyn Police Department. Battle was also the NYPD's first African-American sergeant (1926), lieutenant (1935), and parole commissioner (1941). (See also: Wiley Overton, 1891)
* First African-American attorney admitted to the American Bar Association: Butler R. Wilson (June 1911), William Henry Lewis (August 1911), and William R. Morris (October 1911)
* First African-American elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly: Harry W. Bass (1911).

1914

* First African-American military pilot: Eugene Jacques Bullard

1915

* First African-American alderman of Chicago: Oscar Stanton De Priest

1916

* First African-American to play in a Rose Bowl game: Fritz Pollard, Brown University
* First African-American to become a colonel in the U.S. Army: Charles Young
* First African-American woman to become a licensed pharmacist: Ella P. Stewart

1917

* First African-American woman to win a major sports title: Lucy Diggs Slowe, American Tennis Association

1919

* First African-American special agent for the FBI: James Wormley Jones
* First African-American women appointed as police officers: Cora I. Parchment at the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Georgia Ann Robinson, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
* First African-American to direct a feature film: Oscar Micheaux (The Homesteader)

1920s

1920

* First African-American NFL football players: Fritz Pollard (Akron Pros) and Bobby Marshall (Rock Island Independents)
* First African-American bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Robert Elijah Jones and Matthew Wesley Clair.

1921

* First African-American woman to become an aviation pilot, first American to hold an international pilot license: Bessie Coleman
* First African-American NFL football coach: Fritz Pollard, co-head coach, Akron Pros, while continuing to play running back
* First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S.: Georgiana Rose Simpson. Simpson received her doctoral degree in German from the University of Chicago in 1921.
* First African-American to found a record label: Harry Pace (Black Swan Records)

1923

* First African-American woman to earn a degree in library science: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence.175 Years of Black Pitt People and Notable Milestones. (2004). Blue Black and Gold 2004: Chancellor Mark A. Norenberg Reports on the Pitt African American Experience, 44. Retrieved on 2009-05-22. She earned the degree (Bachelor of Library Science) from what is now part of the University of Pittsburgh.

1924

* First African-American to win individual Olympic gold medal: DeHart Hubbard (long jump, 1924 Summer Olympics). (See also: John Taylor, 1908)

1925

* First African-American Foreign Service Officer: Clifton R. Wharton Sr.

1927

* First African-American to become an officer in the New York Fire Department in New York City: Wesley Augustus Williams.
* First African-American to star in an international motion picture: Josephine Baker in '' La Sirène des tropiques''.

1928

* First post-Reconstruction African-American elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Oscar Stanton De Priest (Republican; Illinois)
* First African-American woman to serve in a state legislature: Minnie Buckingham Harper, West Virginia

1929

* First African-American sportscaster: Sherman "Jocko" Maxwell ( WNJR, Newark, New Jersey, ''Symphony No. 1'', by Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
* First African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School: Jane Matilda Bolin

1932

* First African-American on a presidential ticket in the 20th century: James W. Ford (Communist Party USA, as vice-presidential candidate running with William Z. Foster)
* First African-American Ph.D. in anthropology: William Montague CobbHarrison and Harrison, 1999. African-American Pioneers in Anthropology. New York: University of Illinois Press.

1933

* First African-American woman to earn a doctorate in psychology: Inez Prosser

1934

* First African-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat: Arthur W. Mitchell (Illinois)
* First trade union set up for African-American domestic workers by Dora Lee Jones: William Grant Still (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
* First African-American women selected for the Olympic Games: Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes. Stokes did not compete; Picket competed in the 80-meter hurdles

1937

* First African-American federal magistrate: William H. Hastie (later the first African-American governor of the United States Virgin Islands)

1938

* First African-American woman federal agency head: Mary McLeod Bethune (National Youth Administration)
* First African-American woman elected to a state legislature: Crystal Bird Fauset (Pennsylvania General Assembly)

1939

* First African-American to star in their own television program: Ethel Waters, ''The Ethel Waters Show'', on NBC

1940s

1940

* First African-American to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel ( Best Supporting Actress, ''Gone with the Wind'', 1939)
* First African-American to be portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp: Booker T. Washington
* First African-American flag officer: BG Benjamin O. Davis Sr., U.S. Army
* First African-American to earn a doctorate in library science: (Eliza Atkins Gleason, who earned it from the University of Chicago)

1941

* First African-American to give a White House Command Performance: Josh White

1942

* First African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross: Doris Miller
* First African-American member of the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps: Alfred Masters
* First African-American to captain a United States Merchant Marine, U.S. Merchant Marine ship, the : Hugh Mulzac

1943

* Martin A. Martin, first African-American to become a member of the Trial Bureau of the United States Department of Justice, was sworn in on May 31, 1943.
* First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics: Euphemia Haynes, from Catholic University of America

1944

* First African-American Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers in the United States Navy, U.S. Navy: The "Golden Thirteen"
* First African-American commissioned as a United States Navy, U.S. Navy officer from the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps: Samuel L. Gravely Jr., Samuel Gravely
* First African-American female Navy officers: Lieutenant Harriet Ida Pickens and Ensign Frances Wills
* First African-American to receive a contract with a major U.S. opera company: Camilla Williams
* First known African-American comic book artist: Matt Baker (artist), Matt Baker in ''Jumbo Comics'' #69 for Fiction HouseMatt Baker
at the Grand Comics Database
Archived
from the original on April 24, 2015. Artist credits were not routinely given in comic books in the 1940s, so comprehensive credits are very difficult if not impossible to ascertain.
* First African-American reporter to attend a U.S. presidential news conference: Harry McAlpin

1945

* First African-American member of the New York City Opera: Todd Duncan
* First African-American United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps officer: Frederick C. Branch
* First African-American was sworn in as a Navy nurse: Phyllis Mae Dailey
* First African-American woman to enter the Coast Guard: Olivia Hooker

1946

* First African-American to sign a contract with an NFL team in the modern (post-World War II) era: Kenny Washington (American football), Kenny Washington

1947

* First African-American Major League Baseball player History of baseball in the United States#Blacks return to the major leagues, of the modern era: Jackie Robinson (History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers). (See also: William Edward White, 1879; Moses Fleetwood Walker, 1884)
* First African-American Major League Baseball History of baseball in the United States#Blacks return to the major leagues, player in the American League: Larry Doby (Cleveland Indians).
* First African-American consensus college All-American basketball player: Don Barksdale
* First comic book produced entirely by African-Americans: ''All-Negro Comics''
* First African-American full-time faculty member at a predominantly white law school: William Robert Ming (University of Chicago Law School)
* First African-American female member of the U.S. House and Senate Press gallery, press galleries: Alice Allison Dunnigan (See also: 1948)

1948

* First African-American man to receive an Oscar: James Baskett (Academy Honorary Award, Honorary Academy Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Remus" in ''Song of the South'', 1946) (See also: Sidney Poitier, #1960s, 1964)
* First African-American on an Olympic basketball team and first African-American Olympic gold medal basketball winner: Don Barksdale, in the 1948 Summer Olympics
* First African-American to design and construct a professional golf course: Bill Powell (golf course owner), Bill Powell
* First African-American U.S. Navy aviator: Jesse L. Brown
* First African-American composer to have an opera performed by a major U.S. company: William Grant Still (''Troubled Island'', New York City Opera)
* First African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal: Alice Coachman
* First African-American since Reconstruction to enroll at a traditionally white university of the southern United States, South: Silas Hunt (University of Arkansas School of Law, University of Arkansas Law School)
* First known African-American star of a regularly scheduled Television broadcasting, network television series: Bob Howard (singer), Bob Howard, ''The Bob Howard Show''While considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide. (See also: 1956)
* First African-American man to graduate from Oregon State University, Oregon State College: William Tebeau
* First African-American female reporter to travel with a U.S. president (Harry S. Truman's 1948 United States presidential election, election campaign): Alice Allison Dunnigan (See also: 1947)

1949

* First African-American graduate of the United States Naval Academy, U.S. Naval Academy: Wesley A. Brown, Wesley Brown
*First African-American to chair a committee of the United States Congress: Representative William L. Dawson (politician), William Dawson.
* First African-American to hold the rank of Ambassadors of the United States, Ambassador of the United States: Edward Richard Dudley, Edward R. Dudley, ambassador, and previously minister, to Liberia (See also: 1869)
* First African-American to win an Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MVP award in Major League Baseball: Jackie Robinson (History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers, National League) (See also: Elston Howard, 1963)
* First African-American-owned and -operated radio station: WERD (historic radio station), WERD, established October 3, 1949 in Atlanta, Georgia by Jesse B. Blayton Sr.
* First African-American woman president of an NAACP chapter nationwide: Florence LeSueur of Boston's NAACP chapter.
* First African-American women to earn a Veterinarian, doctor of veterinary medicine degree: Jane Hinton and Alfreda Johnson Webb

1950s

1950

* First African-American to win a Tony Awards, Tony Award: Juanita Hall (Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific'')
* First African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize: Gwendolyn Brooks (Book of poetry, ''Annie Allen'', 1949)
* First African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize: Ralph Bunche
* First African-American to receive a "United States federal judge#Tenure and salary, lifetime" appointment as federal judge: William H. Hastie, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
* First African-American woman to compete on the world tennis tour: Althea Gibson
* First African-American solo singer to have a #1 hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' charts: Nat King Cole ("Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song), Mona Lisa"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on July 15 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Count Basie, 1947; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)
* First African-American delegate to the United Nations: Edith S. Sampson (See also: 1961)
* First African-American National Basketball Association, NBA Basketball, basketball players: Nathaniel Clifton, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (New York Knicks), Chuck Cooper (basketball), Chuck Cooper (Boston Celtics), and Earl Lloyd (Washington Capitols). Note: Harold Hunter (basketball), Harold Hunter was the first to sign an NBA contract, signing with the Washington Capitols on April 26, 1950. However, he was cut from the team during training camp and did not play professionally. (See also: 1902)

1951

* First African-American named to the College Football Hall of Fame: Duke Slater, Iowa Hawkeyes football, University of Iowa (1918–1921)
* First African-American quarterback to become a regular starter for a Professional gridiron football, professional football team: Bernie Custis (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)

1952

* First African-American driver in NASCAR: Wendell Scott (See also: 2015)
* First African-American woman elected to a U.S. State legislature (United States), state senate: Cora Brown, (Michigan)
* First African-American U.S. Marine Corps aviator: Frank E. Petersen
* First African-American woman to be nominated for a national political office: Charlotta Bass, Vice President (Progressive Party (United States, 1948), Progressive Party) (See also: 2000, 2020)
* First African-American baseball player to appear in or win a College World Series: Don Eaddy

1953

* First African-American basketball player to play in the NBA All-Star Game: Don Barksdale in the 1953 NBA All-Star Game
* First African-American quarterback to play in the National Football League during the modern (post-World War II) era: Willie Thrower (Chicago Bears)

1954

* First African-American U.S. Navy Diver: Carl Brashear
* First individual African-American woman as subject on the cover of ''Life (magazine), Life'' magazine: Dorothy Dandridge, November 1, 1954
* First African-American page for the U.S. Supreme Court, and first to be enrolled in the Thomas Jefferson Building#Capitol Page School, Capitol Page School: Charles V. Bush

1955

* First African-American member of the Metropolitan Opera: Marian Anderson
* First African-American male dancer in a major ballet company: Arthur Mitchell (dancer), Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet); also first African-American principal dancer of a major ballet company (NYCB), 1956. (See also: 1969)
* First African-American pilot of a scheduled US airline: August Martin (cargo airline Seaboard World Airlines, Seaboard & Western Airlines) (See also: 1964)
* First African-American to serve as a presidential executive assistant: E. Frederic Morrow, appointed by President Eisenhower as Administrative Officer for Special Projects.

1956

* First African-American star of a nationwide network TV show: Nat King Cole of The Nat King Cole Show, NBC (See also: 1948)
* First African-American to break the color barrier in a bowl game in the Deep South: Bobby Grier (American football player), Bobby Grier, (Pittsburgh Panthers in the 1956 Sugar Bowl)
* First African-American The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon tennis champion: Althea Gibson (doubles, with Englishwoman Angela Buxton); also first African-American to win a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam event (French Open).
* First African-American United States Secret Service, U.S. Secret Service agent: Charles Gittens
* First African-American to win the Cy Young Award as the top pitcher in Major League Baseball, in the award's inaugural year: Don Newcombe (History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers)
* First African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college: Willa Beatrice Player (Bennett College)

1957

* First African-American female Wimbledon Tennis Champion: Althea Gibson
* First African-American assistant coach in the NFL: Lowell Perry, Lowell W. Perry (See also: 1966)
* First African-American to win Major League Baseball's Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Gold Glove, in the award's inaugural year: Willie Mays (History of the New York Giants (baseball), New York Giants)While two black players won Gold Gloves that year, only Mays is African-American. The other, Minnie Miñoso, is Afro-Cuban.
* First African-American to work as a botanist at the United States National Arboretum: Roland Jefferson

1958

* First African-American flight attendant: Ruth Carol Taylor (Mohawk Airlines)
*First African-American to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100: Tommy Edwards (It's All in the Game (song)#"It's All in the Game", It's All in the Game)

1959

* First African-American Grammy Award winners, in the award's inaugural year: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie (two awards each)
* First African-American television journalist: Louis Lomax
* First African-American to win a major national player of the year award in college basketball: Oscar Robertson, Oscar Robertson Trophy, USBWA Player of the YearIn 1998, the award would be renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy after its first recipient. (in that award's inaugural year)

1960s

* First African-American to win the Heisman Trophy: Ernie Davis
* First African-American to serve on a U.S. district court: James Benton Parsons, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
* First African-American delegate to the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Edith S. Sampson (See also: 1950)
* First African-American to go over Niagara Falls: Nathan Boya a.k.a. William FitzGerald
* First African-American to join the PGA Tour: Charlie Sifford

1962

* First African-American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame: Jackie Robinson (See also: Satchel Paige, 1971)
* First African-American coach in Major League Baseball: Buck O'Neil, John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (Chicago Cubs)
* First African-American attorney general of a state: Edward Brooke (Massachusetts) (See also: 1966)
* First African-American student admitted to the University of Mississippi: James Meredith

1963

* First African-American bank examiner for the United States Department of the Treasury: Roland Burris
* First African-American to graduate from the University of Mississippi: James Meredith
* First African-American named as Time (magazine), ''Time'' magazine's Time Person of the Year, Man of the Year: Martin Luther King Jr.
* First African-American to win a NASCAR NASCAR Cup Series#Strictly Stock and Grand National, Grand National event: Wendell Scott
* First African-American police officer of the NYPD to be named a precinct commander: Lloyd Sealy, commander of the NYPD's 28th Precinct in Harlem.
* First African-American to be named American League Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MVP: Elston Howard (New York Yankees) (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1949)
* First African-American Chess title, chess master: Walter Harris
* First African-American to appear as a series regular on a primetime dramatic television series: Cicely Tyson, "East Side/West Side" (CBS).
* First African-American to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award: Diahann Carroll, for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role, for the episode "A Horse Has a Big Head, Let Him Worry" of ''Naked City (TV series), Naked City'' (See also: 1968)
* First African-Americans inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame: New York Renaissance, inducted as a team. (See also: Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975; Clarence Gaines, 1982)
* First African-American to graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy: Charles V. Bush.

1964

* First African-American to join the LPGA, Ladies Professional Golf Association: Althea Gibson
* First African-American pilot for a major commercial airline: David E. Harris, American Airlines (See also: 1955 and Marlon Green)
* First movie with African-American interracial marriage: ''One Potato, Two Potato'', actors Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie, written by Orville H. Hampton, Raphael Hayes, directed by Larry Peerce
* First African-American baseball player to be named the Major League Baseball World Series MVP: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1965

* First African-American nationally Print syndication, syndicated cartoonist: Morrie Turner (''Wee Pals'')
* First African-American title character of a comic book series: Lobo (Dell Comics), Lobo (Dell Comics).The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther (comics), Black Panther, introduced in ''Fantastic Four'' #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series ''Jungle Tales'' (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics. (See also: The Falcon, 1969, and Luke Cage, 1972)
* First African-American star of a Television broadcasting, network television drama: Bill Cosby, ''I Spy (1965 TV series), I Spy'' (co-star with Robert Culp)
* First African-American cast member of a daytime soap opera: Micki Grant who played Peggy Nolan Harris on ''Another World (TV series), Another World'' until 1972.
* First African-American ''Playboy'' Playboy Playmate, Playmate centerfold: Jennifer Jackson (model), Jennifer Jackson (March issue)
* First African-American the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force General: Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (Three-star General)
* First African-American woman Ambassadors of the United States, Ambassador of the United States: Patricia Roberts Harris, ambassador to Luxembourg
* First African-American NFL Official (gridiron football), official: Burl Toler, field judge/head linesman
* First African-American to win a national chess championship: Frank Street Jr. (U.S. Amateur Championship)
* First African-American Solicitor General of the United States, United States Solicitor General: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1967)

1966

* First African-American man to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and first African-American to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Bill Cosby, ''I Spy (1965 TV series), I Spy''
* First team with five African-American starters to win the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA basketball tournament: 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team, 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team
* First African-American coach in the National Basketball Association: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)
* First African-American model on the cover of a ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' (British ''British Vogue, Vogue'') magazine: Donyale Luna
* First post-Reconstruction African-American elected to the U.S. Senate (and first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, popular vote): Edward Brooke (Republican; Massachusetts) (See also: 1962)
* First African-American Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet secretary: Robert C. Weaver (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development)
* First African-American Major League Baseball umpire (baseball), umpire: Emmett Ashford
* First African-American NFL broadcaster: Lowell W. Perry (CBS, on Pittsburgh Steelers games) (See also: 1957)
* First African-American fire commissioner of a major U.S. City: Robert O. Lowery of the New York City Fire Department
* First African-American mayor in Ohio: Robert C. Henry of Springfield, Ohio.

1967

* First African-American to win a PGA Tour event: Charlie Sifford (1967 Travelers Championship, Greater Hartford Open Invitational)
* First African-American elected mayor of a large US city: Carl Stokes, Carl B. Stokes (Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio)
* First African-American appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1965)
* First African-American selected for astronaut training: Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
* First African-American to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Emlen Tunnell
* First African-American interracial kiss on network Broadcast programming, television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (Italian-American) and Sammy Davis Jr. (African-American) on Sinatra's variety special ''Movin' with Nancy, Movin' With Nancy'', airing December 11 on NBC (See also: 1968)

1968

* First African-American interracial kiss on a network television drama: Nyota Uhura, Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols (African-American), and James T. Kirk, Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner (white Canadian): ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek'': "Plato's Stepchildren" (See also: 1967)
* First African-American man to win a Grand Slam tennis event: Arthur Ashe (US Open (tennis), US Open) (See also: Althea Gibson, 1956; Serena Williams, 2003)
* First African-American coach to win an NBA Championship: Bill Russell
* First African-American woman elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Shirley Chisholm (New York (state), New York)
* First African-American appointed as a United States Assistant Secretary of State: Barbara M. Watson
* First African-American to start at quarterback in the modern era of professional football: Marlin Briscoe (Denver Broncos, American Football League, AFL)
* First African-American Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer awarded the Medal of Honor: Riley L. Pitts
* First fine-arts museum devoted to African-American work: Studio Museum in Harlem
* First African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker: Diahann Carroll in ''Julia (American TV series), Julia'' (see also: 1963)
* First African-American woman as a presidential candidate: Charlene Mitchell (See also: Shirley Chisholm, 1972)
* First African-American woman reporter for ''The New York Times'': Nancy Hicks Maynard
* First African-American starring character of a comic strip: Danny Raven in ''Dateline: Danger!'' by Al McWilliams and John Saunders.

1969

* First African-American superhero: The Falcon (comics), Falcon, Marvel Comics' ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #117 (September 1969). (See also: Lobo, 1965 and Luke Cage, 1972)
* First African-American graduate of Harvard Business School: Lillian Lincoln
* First African-American director of a major Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood motion picture: Gordon Parks (''The Learning Tree'')
* First African-American founder of a classical training school and the company of ballet: Arthur Mitchell (dancer), Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem (See also: 1955)
* First African-American woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry: Linda Martell
* First African-American to own a commercial airliner: Warren Wheeler (Wheeler Airlines)

1970s

1970

* First African-American to head an Episcopal diocese: John Burgess (bishop), John Melville Burgess, diocesan bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Massachusetts
* First African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver: Carl Brashear (See also: 1954; 1968)
* First African-American member of the New York Stock Exchange: Joseph L. Searles III
* First African-American NCAA Division I basketball coach: Will Robinson (basketball), Will Robinson (Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball, Illinois State University)At the time, the NCAA had not yet adopted its three-division system. Illinois State was in the NCAA University Division, which became Division I in 1973. The NCAA retroactively considers University Division members to have been Division I members.
* First African-American contestant in the Miss America pageant: Cheryl Browne (Miss Iowa)
* First African-American woman (and first woman) to become a Physician assistant, physician's assistant: Joyce Nichols
* First African-American actress to win a Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Award: Gail Fisher for ''Mannix'' (see also: 1971)
* First African-American basketball player to win the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, NBA All-Star MVP, the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Finals MVP, and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, NBA MVP all in the same season: Willis Reed (New York Knicks)
* First African-American to initiate the concept of free agency. He refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The trend of free agency expanded across the entire landscape of professional sports for all races and all cultures: Curt Flood (St. Louis Cardinals)Although Flood's legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.
* First African-American to become director of a major library system in America: Clara Stanton Jones, as director of the Detroit Public Library
* First African-American to perform at a List of Super Bowl halftime shows, Super Bowl halftime show: Lionel Hampton (Super Bowl IV)

1971

* First African-American pitcher to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame: Satchel Paige (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1962)
* First African-American president of the New York City Panel for Educational Policy, New York City Board of Education: Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.
* First African-American to win a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award: Gail Fisher for ''Mannix'' (see also: 1970)
* First African-American female jockey in the United States: Cheryl White (jockey), Cheryl White
* First African-American to appear by herself on the cover of ''Playboy'': Darine Stern (October issue)
* First African-American to become president of the Public Library Association: Effie Lee Morris

1972

* First African-American to campaign for the United States presidency in a major political party and to win a U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Shirley Chisholm (Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, New Jersey primary) (See also: 1968)
* First African-American superhero to star in own comic-book series: Luke Cage, Marvel Comics' ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972). (See also: Lobo, 1965, and the Falcon, 1969)
* First African-American National Basketball Association general manager: Wayne Embry
* First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a mainstream comics magazine: "The Men Who Called Him Monster", by the writer Don McGregor (See also: 1975) and artist Luis Garcia, in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror fiction, horror-comics magazine ''Creepy (magazine), Creepy'' #43 (Jan. 1972) (See also: 1975)
* First African-American interracial male kiss on network television: Sammy Davis Jr. (African-American) and Carroll O'Connor (Caucasian) in ''All in the Family''
* First African-American inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame: Team-owner and coach Bob Douglas, in the category of "contributor" (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; player Bill Russell, 1975; coach Clarence Gaines, 1982)
* First African-American female Broadway theatre, Broadway director: Vinnette Justine Carroll (''Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope'')
* First African-American comic-book creator to receive a "created by" cover-credit: Wayne Howard (''Midnight Tales'' #1)

1973

* First African-American artistic director of a professional regional theater: Harold Scott (director), Harold Scott (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park)
* First African-American List of James Bond villains, Bond villain in a James Bond movie: Yaphet Kotto, playing Live and Let Die (film), Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga, ''Live and Let Die''.
* First African-American Bond girl, Bond Girl in a James Bond movie: Gloria Hendry (playing Bond girl, Rosie Carver), ''Live and Let Die (film), Live and Let Die''.
* First African-American elected mayor of Los Angeles: Tom Bradley (American politician), Tom Bradley
* First African-American psychologist in the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force: John D. Robinson (psychologist), John D. Robinson
* First African-American woman mayor of a U.S. metropolitan city: Doris A. Davis, Compton, California
* First African-American woman Pornographic film, adult film star, Desiree West.

1974

* First African-American model on the cover of U.S. ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine: Beverly Johnson
* First African-American NBA Coach of the Year Award, NBA Coach of the Year: Ray Scott (basketball), Ray Scott (Detroit Pistons)

1975

* First African-American elected mayor, and first mayor, of Washington, D.C.: Walter Washington
* First African-American game show host: Adam Wade (singer), Adam Wade (CBS' ''Musical Chairs (1975 game show), Musical Chairs'')
* First African-American General (United States), four-star general: Daniel James Jr.
* First African-American inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame List of players in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a player: Bill Russell (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Clarence Gaines, 1982)
* First African-American interracial couple in a TV-series cast: ''The Jeffersons'', actors Franklin Cover (Caucasian) and Roxie Roker (African-American) as Tom and Helen Willis, respectively; series creator: Norman Lear
* First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a color comic book: ''Amazing Adventures'' #31 (July 1975), feature "Killraven: Warrior of the Worlds", characters Killraven, M'Shulla Scott and List of Marvel Comics characters: F, Carmilla Frost, by writer Don McGregor and artist P. Craig Russell (See also: 1972)
* First African-American manager in Major League Baseball: Frank Robinson (Cleveland Indians)
* First African-American model on the cover of ''Elle (magazine), Elle'' magazine: Beverly Johnson
* First African-American psychologist in the United States Navy, U.S. Navy: John D. Robinson (psychologist), John D. Robinson
* First African-American to play in a men's major golf championships, men's major golf championship: Lee Elder (1975 Masters Tournament, The Masters)
* First African-American to be named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, Super Bowl MVP in NFL: Franco Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers). Of mixed heritage, Harris was also the first Italian-American to win the award.
* First African-American women named as ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's Time Person of the Year, Person of the Year: Barbara Jordan and Addie L. Wyatt

1976

* First African-American female elected officer of an international labor union: Addie L. Wyatt
* First African-American to become president of the American Library Association: Clara Stanton Jones, who served as its acting president from April 11 to July 22 in 1976 and then its president from July 22, 1976, to 1977
* First African-American to win a major party nomination for statewide office in the Southern United States since the Reconstruction era: Asa T. Spaulding Jr.

1977

* First African-American, and first woman, appointed director of the Peace Corps: Carolyn R. Payton
* First African-American drafted to play professional basketball, first woman to dunk in a professional women's game: Cardte Hicks
* First African-American woman in the Cabinet of the United States, U.S. Cabinet: Patricia Roberts Harris, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
* First African-American woman whose signature appeared on U.S. currency: Azie Taylor Morton, the 36th Treasurer of the United States
* First African-American publisher of mainstream gay publication: Alan Bell (''Gaysweek'')
* First African-American woman to join the Daughters of the American Revolution: Karen Batchelor
* First African-American Major League Baseball General manager (baseball), general manager: Bill Lucas (baseball), Bill Lucas (Atlanta Braves)
* First African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest: Pauli Murray.
*First African-American to work as a registrar for a major scientific museum: Margaret Santiago.

1978

* First African-American broadcast network news anchor: Max Robinson
* First African-American woman pilot for a major commercial airline: Jill E. Brown, Texas International Airlines
* First African-American woman to advance to the rank of captain in the Navy: Joan C. Bynum

1979

* First African-American U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Frank E. Petersen
* First African-American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for lead actor in a soap opera: Al Freeman Jr. (Ed Hall (One Life to Live), Ed Hall in ''One Life to Live'')
* First African-American woman ordained in the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), the largest of three denominations that later combined to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Earlean Miller
* First African-American head coach of an NCAA Division I-A football program: Willie Jeffries (Wichita State Shockers football, Wichita State).

1980s

1980

* First African-American-oriented cable channel: BET
* First African-American woman to graduate from (and to attend) the United States Naval Academy, U.S. Naval Academy: Janie L. Mines, graduated in 1980

1981

* First African-American to play in the National Hockey League, NHL: Val James (Buffalo Sabres)The NHL had fielded black players for more than 20 years, with the first being Willie O'Ree in 1958, but all past black players were Black Canadians and not African-Americans. In 1996, Mike Grier (Edmonton Oilers) became the first to have been both born and exclusively trained in the U.S., per

1982

* First African-American inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame List of coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a coach: Clarence Gaines (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975)
* First African-American U.S. Army General (United States), four-star General: Roscoe Robinson Jr.

1983

* First African-American astronaut: Guion Bluford (Space Shuttle Challenger, Challenger mission STS-8).Cosmonaut Arnaldo Mendez was the first person of African descent in space, in 1980.
* First African-American mayor of Chicago: Harold Washington
* First African-American Miss America: Vanessa Williams, Vanessa L. Williams (A few weeks before the end of her reign as Miss America, Williams learned that Penthouse magazine would be publishing unauthorized nude photographs of her in an upcoming issue. Amid growing media controversy and scrutiny, Williams resigned as Miss America in July 1984 (under pressure from the Miss America Organization) and was replaced by first runner-up Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles, who was also African-American.)
* First African-American owners of a major metropolitan newspaper: Robert C. Maynard, Robert C. and Nancy Hicks Maynard (''Oakland Tribune'')
* First African-American artist to have a music video shown on MTV: Michael Jackson

1984

* First African-American to win a delegate-awarding U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Jesse Jackson (Louisiana, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, and one of two separate Mississippi contests).
* First African-American New York City Police Commissioner: Benjamin Ward
* First African-American coach to win the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship: John Thompson (basketball), John Thompson (1983–84 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team, Georgetown)

1985

* First African-American to become a member of the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team: Donnie Cochran. Also first African-American to command the team (1994).
* First African-American female general: Sherian Cadoria

1986

* First African-American Formula One auto racing, racecar driver: Willy T. RibbsLewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One racer in 2006, but he is a British citizen of Grenadan ancestry, and not an African-American. Willy T. Ribbs, Ribbs did not compete in a race, but drove a Formula One car professionally in January 1986 as a tester for the Brabham–BMW in Formula One#Brabham, ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier (1982–1988), BMW at Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal. (See also: Ribbs, 1991)
* First African-American musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the inaugural class: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Little Richard
* First African-American woman (Shirley A.Ajayi) was given a part for 6 months on a TV show as a psychic in 1986 in Chicago, Illinois.Shirley had to audition with other psychics to get the part. She then was taught marketing at the John Hancock center by her boss who ran the TV show.For safety reasons she was renamed Aura!Bio available:book "Aura The Ebony Princess."

1987

*First African-American woman, and first woman, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin
* First African-American Radio City Music Hall Rockette: Jennifer Jones (Rockette), Jennifer Jones
* First African-American man to sail around the world solo: Teddy Seymour

1988

* First African-American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics (a bronze in figure skating): Debi Thomas
* First African-American woman elected to a U.S. judgeship, and first appointed to a state supreme court: Juanita Kidd Stout
* First African-American candidate for President of the United States to obtain ballot access in all 50 states: Lenora Fulani
* First African-American NFL referee: Johnny Grier
* First African-American quarterback to start (and to win) a Super Bowl: Doug Williams (quarterback), Doug Williams (Super Bowl XXII)

1989

* First African-American NFL coach of the modern era: Art Shell, History of the Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles Raiders
* First African-American mayor of New York City: David Dinkins
* First African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell
* First African-American woman, and first woman, ordained bishop in the Episcopal Church: Barbara Harris (bishop), Barbara Clementine Harris
* First African-American Democratic National Committee, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee: Ron Brown

1990s

1990

* First elected African-American Governor (United States), governor: Douglas Wilder (Virginia) (See also: P. B. S. Pinchback, 1872)
* First African-American elected president of the ''Harvard Law Review'': Barack Obama (See also: 2008, 2009)
* First African-American Miss USA: Carole Gist
* First African-American ''Playboy'' List of Playboy Playmates of the Year, Playmate of the Year: Renee Tenison

1991

* First African-American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 auto racing, auto race: Willy T. Ribbs (See also: Ribbs, 1986)
* First African-American female Mayor of the District of Columbia, mayor of Washington, D.C.: Sharon Pratt, Sharon Pratt Kelly

1992

* First African-American female astronaut: Dr. Mae Jemison (Space Shuttle Endeavour)
* First African-American woman elected to U.S. Senate: Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)
* First African-American woman to moderate a United States presidential debates, Presidential debate: Carole Simpson (second debate of 1992 campaign)
* First African-American to sail solo around the world following the Age of Sail route around the southern tips of South America (Cape Horn) and Africa (Cape of Good Hope), avoiding the Panama Canal, Panama and Suez Canal, Suez Canals: Bill Pinkney
* First African-American Major League Baseball manager (baseball), manager to reach (and win) the World Series: Cito Gaston (Toronto Blue Jays) 1992 World Series
* First African-American to direct an animated film: Bruce W. Smith (Bébé's Kids)

1993

* First African-American United States Secretary of Commerce: Ron Brown
* First African-American woman, and first woman, appointed as United States Secretary of Energy, U.S. Secretary of Energy: Hazel R. O'Leary
* First African-American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison
* First African-American woman named United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate of the United States: Rita Dove; also the youngest person named to that position
* First African-American appointed Office of National Drug Control Policy, Director of the National Drug Control Policy: Lee P. Brown
* First African-American Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: David Satcher
* First African-American appointed Surgeon General of the United States: Joycelyn Elders
* First African-American to serve as home plate umpire for World Series game: Charlie Williams (umpire), Charlie Williams for Game 4 of the 1993 World Series
* First African-American to be inducted as a List of Grand Ole Opry Members, member of the Grand Ole Opry: Charley Pride

1994

* First African-American female director of a major-studio movie: Darnell Martin (Columbia Pictures' ''I Like It Like That (film), I Like It Like That'')
* First African-American to win the United States Amateur Championship (golf), United States Amateur Championship: Tiger Woods

1995

* First African-American inductee to the Radio Hall of Fame, National Radio Hall of Fame: Hal Jackson
* First African-American Sergeant Major of the Army: Gene McKinney, Gene C. McKinney
* First African-American Miss Universe: Chelsi Smith
* First African-American Personal Diarist to a President of the United States (President William J. Clinton) (Janis F. Kearney)

1996

* First African-American U.S. Navy Admiral (United States), four-star admiral: J. Paul Reason
* First African-American Major League Baseball, MLB general manager to win the World Series: Bob Watson (New York Yankees), 1996 World Series

1997

* First African-American to win a men's major golf championships, men's major golf championship: Tiger Woods (Masters Tournament, The Masters)
* First African-American model to appear on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition'': Tyra Banks
* First African-American List of UFC champions, UFC champion: Maurice Smith (kickboxer), Maurice Smith
* First African-American Director of the National Park Service: Robert Stanton (park director), Robert Stanton

1998

* First African-American appointed United States Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Labor: Alexis Herman
* First African-American female rear admiral in the United States Navy, U.S. Navy: Lillian E. Fishburne, Lillian Fishburne
* First African-American Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard: Vincent W. Patton III
* First African-American to play in the Presidents Cup: Tiger WoodsWoods' mixed ancestry – ¼ Chinese people, Chinese, ¼ Thai people, Thai, ¼ African-American, ⅛ White American, white, and ⅛ Native Americans in the United States, Native American – also makes him the first Asian-American to achieve this feat. He is also the first of only four golfers of primarily non-European descent to win a men's major, with the others being Vijay Singh (an Indians in Fiji, Indian Fijian), Michael Campbell (a Māori people, Māori from New Zealand), and Yang Yong-eun, Y.E. Yang (South Korean).
* First African-American to Lying in state, lie in honor at the United States Capitol, U.S. Capitol: Jacob ChestnutNote: Individuals lying in state have five guards of honor, representing the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Individuals lying in honor have the United States Capitol Police, U.S. Capitol Police as civilian guards of honor. (See also: 2005, 2019)

1999

* First African-American to be awarded the Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster title in chess: Maurice Ashley
* First African-American Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps: Alford L. McMichael
* First African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae
* First African-American female university president: Shirley Ann Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

21st century

2000s

2000

* First African-American nominated for Vice President of the United States by a Federal Election Commission-recognized and federally funded political party: Ezola Foster, Ezola B. Foster (See also: 1952, 2020;FEC established 1975)
* First African-American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame: Charley Pride

2001

* First Jamaican-American United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State: Colin Powell
* First African-American president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: The Most Reverend Wilton Daniel Gregory
* First African-American president of the Unitarian Universalist Association: Rev. William G. Sinkford
* First African-American president of an Ivy League university: Ruth Simmons, Ruth J. Simmons at Brown University
* First African-American woman National Security Advisor (United States), National Security Advisor: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2005)
* First Black billionaires, African-American billionaire: Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET, Black Entertainment Television (see also 2002)
* First African-American woman billionaire: Sheila Johnson

2002

* First African-American to become majority owner of a Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, U.S. major sports league team: Robert L. Johnson (Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats, National Basketball Association, NBA)Announced as Bobcats owner in December 2002, although the team did not begin to play until . (see also 2001)
* First African-American Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympic gold medal winner: Vonetta Flowers (two-woman bobsleigh)
* First African-American woman combat pilot in the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces: Captain Vernice Armour, USMC (See also: 2008)
* First African-American to be ranked #1 in tennis: Venus Williams
* First African-American to be named ITF World Champions, year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena Williams
* First African-American Arena Football League head coach to win ArenaBowl: Darren Arbet (San Jose SaberCats), ArenaBowl XVI
* First African-American general manager in the National Football League: Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens)

2003

* First African-American to win a Career Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam in tennis: Serena Williams (See also: Althea Gibson, 1956; Arthur Ashe, 1968)
* First African-American American Bar Association president: Dennis Archer

2004

* First African-American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame: Charlie Sifford
* First African-American National Basketball Association, NBA general manager to win the NBA Finals: Joe Dumars (Detroit Pistons), 2004 NBA Finals
* First African-American Canadian Football League head coach to reach (and win) the Grey Cup: Pinball Clemons (Toronto Argonauts), 92nd Grey Cup

2005

* First African-American woman United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2001)
*First African-American women to lead a major transportation agency in the U.S. serving on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, BART Board of Directors: Carole Ward Allen and Lynette Sweet
* First African-American woman United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard aviator: Jeanine Menze
* First African-American woman, and first woman, to Lying in state, lie in honor at the United States Capitol, U.S. Capitol: Rosa Parks (See also: 1998, 2019)

2006

* First African-American to command a United States Marine Corps division: Walter E. Gaskin, Major General Walter E. Gaskin
* First African-American individual Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympic gold medal winner: Shani Davis (men's 1,000-meter speed skating)
* First African-American to reach the peak of Mount Everest: Sophia Danenberg
* First African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism: Merle Kodo Boyd
* First African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Warren Moon

2007

* First known African-American woman to reach the North Pole: Barbara Hillary (adventurer), Barbara Hillary
* First African-American White House Chief Usher: Stephen W. Rochon, Stephen Rochon
*First African-American NFL head coaches to reach the Super Bowl: Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLISmith and Dungy both reached this milestone on the same day, although Smith was technically the first due solely to scheduling. The NFC Championship Game, NFC and AFC Championship Games are always held on the same day. In the NFL playoffs, 2006–07, playoffs that followed the 2006 NFL season, the NFC game was played first.
* First African-American NFL coach to win a Super Bowl: Tony Dungy (Super Bowl XLI)

2008

* First African-American to be nominated as a major-party U.S. presidential candidate: Barack Obama, Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party
* First African-American elected President of the United States: Barack Obama
* First African-American to referee a Super Bowl game: Mike Carey (American football), Mike Carey (Super Bowl XLII)
* First African-American woman elected Speaker of a : Speakers of state lower houses in the United States, state House of Representatives: List of Speakers of the California State Assembly, California Rep. Karen Bass
* First African-American to be appointed to the United States Senate by a state governor: Roland Burris
* First African-American woman combat pilot in the United States Air Force: Major Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell (See also: 2002)
* First African-American NFL general manager to win the Super Bowl: Jerry Reese (New York Giants), Super Bowl XLII

2009

* First African-American President of the United States: Barack Obama
* First African-American First Lady of the United States: Michelle Obama
* First African-American chair of the Republican National Committee: Michael Steele
* First African-American United States Attorney General: Eric Holder
* First African-American woman List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations, United States Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice
* First African-American Office of the United States Trade Representative, United States Trade Representative: Ron Kirk
* First African-American woman Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Lisa P. Jackson
* First African-American White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers
* First African-American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin: Duke Ellington (District of Columbia and United States Territories quarters, District of Columbia quarter).
* First African-American List of administrators and deputy administrators of NASA, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Charles Bolden, Charles F. Bolden Jr.
* First African-American woman rabbi: Alysa Stanton
* First African-American woman Chief executive officer, CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Ursula Burns, Xerox, Xerox Corporation.
* First African-American doubles team to be named ITF World Champions, year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena Williams, Serena Williams sisters, and Venus Williams

2010s

2010

* First African-American female to be elected state Attorney General in the United States: Kamala Harris (California) (See also: 2020 and 2021)
* First African-American to win the Stanley Cup: Dustin Byfuglien with the Chicago Blackhawks

2011

* First African-American Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Charles E. Samuels Jr.
* First African-American admitted to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College: Sandra Lawson

2012

* First African-American to be re-elected President of the United States: Barack Obama
* First African-American Combatant Commander of United States Central Command: Lloyd Austin
* First African-American elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC): Fred Luter
* First African-American woman to take command of a navy missile destroyer: Monika Washington Stoker

2013

* First African-American U.S. senator from the former Confederate States of America, Confederacy since Reconstruction: Tim Scott
* First African-American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Cheryl Boone Isaacs
* First African-American United States Secretary of Homeland Security: Jeh Johnson

2014

* First African-American woman Admiral (United States), four-star admiral: Michelle Howard, Michelle J. Howard
* First African-American senator to be elected in the South since Reconstruction: Tim Scott, elected in South Carolina
* First African-American player named to the USA Curtis Cup Team: Mariah Stackhouse

2015

* First African-American to lead a major intelligence agency: Vincent Stewart, Vincent R. Stewart, Defense Intelligence Agency
* First African-American commissioner of a Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major North American sports league: Jeffrey Orridge, Canadian Football League
* First African-American woman United States Attorney General, Attorney General of the United States: Loretta Lynch
* First African-American female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre: Misty Copeland
* First African-American to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame: Wendell Scott (See also: 1952)
* First African-American sole anchor of a network evening newscast: Lester Holt
* First African-American elected as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church: Michael Curry (bishop), Bishop Michael Curry
* First African-American female American Bar Association president: Paulette Brown

2016

* First African-American president of a major broadcast TV network: Channing Dungey
* First African-American Librarian of Congress: Dr. Carla Hayden

2017

* First African-American CEO of a Major League Baseball team: Derek Jeter

2018

* First African-American woman to headline Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella: Beyoncé, giving rise to the nickname Beyoncé 2018 Coachella performance, Beychella
* First African-American to play for Team USA Hockey in the Olympic Games: Jordan Greenway
* First African-American artist commissioned for US president portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Kehinde Wiley
* First African-American artist commissioned for US first-lady portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Amy Sherald
* First African-American List of presidents of the American Psychiatric Association, president of the American Psychiatric Association: Altha Stewart
* First African-American woman to be major party nominee for state governor: Stacey Abrams
* First African-American superintendent of the United States Military Academy: Darryl A. Williams
* First African-American woman U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Lorna Mahlock

2019

* First African-American woman to be the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health: Dr. Ngozi Ezike
* First African-American general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Peter M. Johnson
* First African-American (and first historian) secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Lonnie Bunch
* First African-American female director of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited institution: Denise Verret
* First African-American elected official to lie in state at the United States Capitol, U.S. Capitol: Representative Elijah Cummings (See also: 1998, 2005)

2020s

2020

* First African-American to be nominated as a major party U.S. vice-presidential candidate: Kamala Harris, Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party (See also: 2010 and 2021)
*First African-American, (and first Asian American) and first female elected Vice President of the United States: Kamala Harris
* First African-American to be appointed as a military Chief of Staff and first African-American to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces: Charles Q. Brown Jr.
* First African-American president of an NFL team: Jason Wright (Washington Commanders)
* First African-American Professor of Poetry, first African-American woman Professor and first Distinguished Visiting Poetry Professor of the Iowa Writers' Workshop: Tracie Morris
* First African-American elected official to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol United States Capitol rotunda, Rotunda: John Lewis (See also: 1998, 2005)
* First African-American Catholic cardinal: Wilton Daniel Gregory, Wilton Gregory

2021

*First African-American, (and first Asian-American) and first female Vice President of the United States: Kamala Harris (See also: 2010 and 2020)
*First African-American (and first Asian-American) and first female Presiding Officer of the United States Senate, President of the United States Senate: Kamala Harris
*First African-American (first female and first Asian-American) to serve as Acting President of the United States: Kamala Harris
*First List of African-American United States senators, African-American Democratic U.S. senator to represent a former Confederate States of America, Confederate state in the United States Senate: Raphael Warnock, elected in Georgia.
*First African-American United States Secretary of Defense: Lloyd Austin
* First full-time female African-American NFL coach: Jennifer King (Washington Commanders).
* First African-American president of the American Civil Liberties Union: Deborah Archer
* First African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Missouri: Robin Ransom
* First African-American to win the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee, Scripps National Spelling Bee: Zaila Avant-garde
* First African-American U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York: Damian Williams (lawyer), Damian Williams
* First African-American NCAA ice hockey coach: Kelsey Koelzer
* First African-American Connecticut State Comptroller: Natalie Braswell

2022

* First African-American woman and first woman to be the police commissioner of the New York Police Department: Keechant Sewell
* First African-American woman to appear on U.S. currency (a Quarter (United States coin), quarter): Maya Angelou
* First African-American woman nominated, confirmed to, and sworn into the Supreme Court of the United States: Ketanji Brown Jackson
* First African-American represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection: Mary McLeod Bethune
* First African-American Marine Corps four-star general: Michael Langley
* First African-American governor-elect of the U.S. state of Maryland: Wes Moore.
* First African-American Attorney General-elect of the U.S. state of Maryland: Anthony Brown (Maryland politician), Anthony Brown (politician)

See also

* List of African-American pioneers in desegregation of higher education
* List of African-American sports firsts
* List of African-American arts firsts
* List of African-American United States Cabinet members
* List of African-American U.S. state firsts
* List of black Academy Award winners and nominees
* List of black Golden Globe Award winners and nominees
* List of first African-American mayors
* List of African-American women in medicine
* Timeline of African-American history
* Timeline of the civil rights movement
* List of Asian-American firsts
* List of Native American firsts

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

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* – Interviews with six African-American "firsts", including the first black governor, the first black billionaire, and the first black Ivy League president.
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{{African American topics

Lists of firsts, African-American
African American-related lists, African-American firsts
Social history of the United States
American culture
United States history timelines