Today in “Hidden” History is a daily listing of important but little-known events illustrating the range of innovators, contributors, or incidents excluded from formal history lessons or common knowledge. Hidden history is intended not as an exhaustive review, but merely as an illustration of how popular narratives “hide” many matters of fundamental importance. Bookmark this page and check daily to quickly expand your knowledge. Suggest entries for Today in “Hidden” History by clicking the Contact Us link.
May 02| Date | Type | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1762 |  James Derham, the first African American to become a physician in the United States, is born into slavery in Philadelphia. As a child, Derham was transferred to Dr. John Kearsley Jr. under whom Derham studied medicine. Upon Dr. Kearsley’s death, Derham, then fifteen years old, was held in bondage by several different individuals, including Dr. George West, a surgeon for a British regiment during the American Revolutionary War. before being finally being held by New Orleans doctor Robert Dow in whose prescribe Derham assisted. Derham subsequently gained his emancipation and opened his own medical practice in New Orleans. In 1788, Derham and Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) met in Philadelphia, and corresponded with one another for twelve years. Learn more. | |
| 1844 |  Elijah McCoy, a Black American inventor who received more than 50 patents for his inventions during his lifetime, is born. His most famous invention was a cup that feeds lubricating oil to machine bearings through a small tube. Machinists and engineers who wanted genuine McCoy lubricators might have used the expression "the real McCoy"—a term meaning "the real deal" or "the genuine article." Learn more. | |
| 1963 |  More than 700 Black children peacefully protest racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the Children's Crusade, beginning a movement that sparks widely-publicized police brutality that shocks the nation and spurs major civil rights advances. As part of that effort, more than 1,000 African American children trained in nonviolent protest tactics walked out of their classes on May 2 and assembled at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to march to downtown Birmingham. Though hundreds were assaulted, arrested, and transported to jail in school buses and paddy wagons, the children refused to relent their peaceful demonstration. Learn more. |
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