Countries Usa New York Harlem | History by KabAstro

Events in Harlem History

1925-08-25 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters organizes (Harlem NY)

Ellington at the Cotton Club

1927-12-04 Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem, NYC

Jazz Musician and Composer Duke Ellington

Music History

1929-05-02 Billie Holiday (14) and her mother are arrested for prostitution following a raid of a brothel in Harlem, New York City

1934-01-26 The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
1942-08-01 Race riots in Harlem, New York City
1943-08-01 Race riot in Harlem, New York City
1964-07-18 Race riot in Harlem, New York City; riots spread to Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn
1967-02-12 Pirate Radio Free Harlem (NYC) begins transmitting

Election of Interest

1967-04-11 Harlem (NYC) voters defy Congress and re-elect Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in special election to fill the seat from which he had been expelled

Sports History

1988-08-23 Mike Tyson & Mitch Green brawl at 4 A.M. in Harlem, NYC

1991-12-29 12th United Negro College Fund "Parade of Stars" telethon, hosted by Lou Rawls airs from Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood, and The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NYC
2014-03-12 8 people are killed, 70 injured, & 2 buildings are leveled by a gas explosion in East Harlem, New York

Famous People from Harlem

1886-05-04 Frank H. Wilson, American actor (Beware, Paradise in Harlem), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1956)

Lorenz Hart (1895-1943)

1895-05-02 American lyricist ("I Could Write A Book"; "My Funny Valentine") and half of the Broadway musical team Rodgers and Hart, born in Harlem, New York

1899-10-03 Gertrude Berg, American actress (Molly Goldberg-Goldbergs), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1966)
1901-05-21 Sam Jaffe, American music and film producer (Born Free, The Fighting Sullivans), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2000)
1915-01-10 Dean Dixon, American conductor, born in Harlem, New York City (d. 1975)
1915-05-02 Van Alexander [Alexander Van Vliet Feldman], American composer, arranger ("A-Tisket, A-Tasket"), and orchestra leader (Dean Martin Show), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2015)
1918-10-27 Teresa Wright, American actress (Shadow Of A Doubt; Pride of the Yankees; The Best Years of Our Lives), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2005)
1922-02-26 (Bernard) "Bunny" Briggs, American tap dancer, born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2014)

James Baldwin (1924-1987)

1924-08-02 American novelist (Go Tell it on the Mountain; Another Country) and playwright (The Amen Corner; Blues for Mister Charlie), born in Harlem, New York

1924-09-27 (Earl) "Bud" Powell, American jazz pianist and composer, born in Harlem, New York (d. 1966)
1924-12-19 Cicely Tyson, American stage and screen actress (Roots; The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2021) [1]

Harry Belafonte (1927-2023)

1927-03-01 Jamaican-American Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning calypso singer ("Banana Boat Song"), actor (Buck & the Preacher), and human rights activist, born in Harlem, New York

1928-01-23 Elayne Jones, American classical, timpanist and civil rights activist, born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2022) [1]
1928-04-15 Norma Merrick Sklarek, 1st African-American woman architect in NY & California, born in Harlem, New York (d. 2012)
1928-05-29 Freddie Redd, American hard-bop jazz pianist, organist, and composer, born in Harlem, New York (d. 2021)
1928-07-08 Norma Donaldson, American stage and screen singer and actress (Across 110th Street; Poetic Justice; The Young And The Restless), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1994)
1929-11-23 Gloria Lynne [Wilson], American jazz vocalist (Dell Tones), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2013)
1930-06-21 Harold Blanchard, American jazz pianist and jazz and classical composer (New Earth Sonata), born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2010)
1930-10-08 Faith Ringgold (née Jones), American mixed-media artist (Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima?), children's literature author and illustrator (We Came to America), and educator, born in Harlem, New York City (d. 2024) [1]
1931-08-02 Philippa Schuyler, African-American child classical piano prodigy, composer, and journalist, born in Harlem, New York (d. 1967)
1934-03-01 Joan Hackett, American stage and screen actress (Will Penny; Only When I Laugh; Mourning Becomes Electra), born in East Harlem, New York (d. 1983)
1935-01-23 Robert Parris "Bob" Moses, American civil rights activist (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)), and educator (The Algebra Project), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2021)
1935-05-29 Sylvia Robinson, American singer (Mickey & Sylvia - "Love Is Strange"; solo - "Pillow Talk"), record producer, and record label executive (Sugar Hill Records), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2011)
1936-03-06 Sylvia Robinson, American rocker (Mickey & Sylvia - "Love Is Strange"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2011)
1936-07-09 June Jordan, Caribbean-American playwright and poet (His Own Where), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2002)

Colin Powell (1937-2021)

1937-04-05 American General and 1st Black US Secretary of State (2001-05), born in Harlem, New York [1]

1937-08-06 Paul Griffin, American session musician and pianist, born in Harlem, New York (d. 2000)
1939-11-15 Yaphet Kotto, African-American stage and screen actor (Live And Let Die; Alien; Homicide: Life on the Street), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2021) [1]
1940-05-07 Jerry Harkness, American College Basketball HOF point guard (Loyola [Illinois]; New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2021)
1940-07-11 Ronnie Mack, American singer-songwriter ("He's So Fine"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1963)
1942-04-01 Samuel R. Delany Jr, American sci-fi author (Towers of Toron; Neveryona), born in Harlem, New York
1942-05-17 Taj Mahal [Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr.], American singer-songwriter (Real Thing), born in Harlem, New York
1944-03-15 Ralph MacDonald, Trinbagonian-American jazz and R&B percussionist and songwriter ("Just the Two of Us"; "Where Is The Love"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2011)
1944-08-08 Dapper Dan [Daniel Day], American fashion designer, born in Harlem, New York

John Carlos (79 years old)

1945-06-05 American sprinter who performed the black power salute while accepting his Olympic bronze medal in 1968, born in Harlem, New York

1946-02-28 Ysaye Maria Barnwell, American singer gospel and a cappella singer (Sweet Honey in the Rock, 1979-2013), composer, and producer, born in Harlem, New York
1949-12-16 Sugar Blue [Jimmie Whiting], American touring and session blues harmonica player (Louisiana Red; Rolling Stones), born in Harlem, New York
1950-08-10 Patti Austin, American soul, pop, and jazz singer (with James Ingram - "Come To Me"), born in Harlem, New York
1954-05-31 Vicki Sue Robinson, American stage and screen actress, and pop singer ("Turn the Beat Around"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2000)
1956-04-04 Allan Harris, American jazz singer and guitarist (Cross That River; Kate's Soulfood), born in Harlem, New York City
1956-10-02 Freddie Jackson, American R&B singer and songwriter ("Rock Me Tonight"), born in Harlem, New York
1956-12-26 Kashif Saleem [Michael Jones], American R&B, disco, and soul keyboardist (B.T. Express, 1976-79 - "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More"), songwriter, and record producer, born in Harlem, New York (d. 2016)
1961-07-22 Keith Sweat, American new jack swing singer, born in Harlem, New York City
1962-05-30 Elizabeth Alexander, American poet (American Sublime) and academic (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president), born in Harlem, New York
1963-05-24 Gene Anthony Ray, American dancer and actor (Fame - "Leroy"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2003)
1965-09-11 Moby [Richard Hall], American musician (Play; 18), born in Harlem, New York
1967-05-18 Rob Base [Ginyard], American rapper (Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock - "It Takes Two"), born in Harlem, New York
1968-02-16 Cecil Gray, NFL tackle, 1990-95 (Philadelphia Eagles, Indianoplois Colts, and 3 other teams), born in Harlem, New York City
1970-04-10 Q-Tip [Kamaal Fareed, born Jonathan Davis], American rapper, actor, record producer and DJ, born in Harlem, New York

Tupac Shakur (1971-1996)

1971-06-16 American rapper and actor (Juice, Bullet), born in East Harlem, New York

1973-04-13 Bokeem Woodbine, American actor (Jason's Lyric; Fargo (tv series)), born in Harlem, New York
1974-05-30 Big L [Lamont Coleman], American rapper (Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1999)
1974-06-22 Donald Faison, American actor (Scrubs - "Dr. Turk"), born in Harlem, New York
1976-02-04 Cam'ron [Cameron Ezike Gile], American rapper, born in East Harlem, New York City
1976-05-17 Rochelle Aytes, American actress (Mistresses), born in Harlem, New York
1979-04-10 Shemekia Copeland, American blues singer (Turn the Heat Up!), born in Harlem, New York
1981-12-17 40 Cal. [Calvin Alan Byrd], American rapper, born in Harlem, New York
1983-02-18 Juelz Santana, American rapper, born in Harlem, New York City
1986-10-25 DJ Webstar [Troy Ryan], American disc jockey and record producer (Chicken Noodle Soup), born in Harlem, New York