January 29

Dr. Sarah Loguen Fraser (January 29, 1850 - April 1933)  was the first woman to gain an M.D. from Syracuse University School of Medicine and is believed to be only the fourth African American woman to become a licensed physician in the United States, the second in New York, and the first to graduate from a coeducational medical school. She went on to intern in pediatrics and obstetrics in Philadelphia and Boston before opening her own practice in Washington, DC. While she was in Washington, she met, and then in 1882 married, Dr. Charles Fraser, a chemist. She moved to his home in the Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic where she became the country's first female doctor, although she was allowed to treat only women and children because of her gender. After his death, she ran a pediatric practice from her home in Syracuse, New York and mentored black midwives. She was the daughter of Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen, an abolitionist and A.M.E. Zion bishop, and initially became interested in medicine as a child when she would help in treating the illnesses and injuries of the people who passed through their home, a major location of the Underground Railroad in Syracuse, New York.

Birthdays

Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was a electric blues guitarist. As a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to play guitar. In 1949 Taylor moved to Chicago. While he never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago blues scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era. He is especially noted as a main accompanist for Jimmy Reed.

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) was the first Latin American and the first person of African ancestry in space; he was proclaimed at the time as the first black cosmonaut.  As a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into earth orbit.

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. She is a graduate of Tennessee State University and anchored news shows in Nashville and Baltimore, and a morning talk show in Chicago before her own show premiered. She is the founder and CEO of Harpo Productions and O, The Oprah Magazine, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Sofia in the 1986 film The Color Purple.


Events

On January 29, 1850, Whig Senator Henry Clay gave a speech which called for compromise on the issues dividing the Union. However, Clay's specific proposals for achieving a compromise, including his idea for Texas' boundary, were not adopted in a single bill. The Compromise came to coalesce around a plan dividing Texas at its present-day boundaries, creating territorial governments with "popular sovereignty" (without the Wilmot Proviso) for New Mexico and Utah, admitting California as a free state, abolishing the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and enacting a new fugitive slave law. It was enacted in September 1850.


Photo Gallery

Historic Nebraska Mug Shots, Goldie Williams. Goldie Williams defiantly crossed her arms for her Omaha Police Court Mug Shot. Arrested on January 29, 1898.

Save Our Sister Day -- January 29, 1972. Angela Davis spent 18 months in prison, facing two capital charges, before she was acquitted.

Percy LaVon Julian Issued: January 29, 1993 Percy LaVon Julian won fame for his work as a research chemist. He synthesized a glaucoma drug, and his research led to large-scale production of cortisone drugs and the hormones progesterone and testosterone.

Hattie McDaniel was featured as the 29th inductee on the Black Heritage Series by the United States Postal Service. The 39-cent stamp was released on January 29, 2006.

President Obama Signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: January 29, 2009

Publications

Rosalind Russell and Hazel Washington - Jet Magazine, January 29, 1953

Covergirl New Yorker Lillian Gore - Jet Magazine, January 29, 1959

Year Old Marguerite Wright Has Rhythm In Her Feet - Jet Magazine, January 29, 1959

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