*               Today in Black History - May 9          *

1750 - The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina
        slave, has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in
        exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and
        the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest known
        African American medical practitioners.

1800 - John Brown, abolitionist and martyr at Harper's Ferry, is born in
        Torrington, Connecticut.

1862 - General Hunter of the Union Army issues a proclamation freeing the
        slaves of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  A displeased
        President Lincoln anulled this act.  Lincoln stated, "General Hunter
        is an honest man...He proclaimed all men free within certain states.
        I repudiated the proclamation."

1919 - James Reese Europe is stabbed to death by a crazed band member(his
        drummer) after a concert at Mechanics Hall in Boston.  Europe was one
        of the preeminent jazz bandleaders of the early 20th century,
        beginning with his association with the team of J. Rosamond Johnson
        and Bob Cole in The Shoo Fly Regiment in 1906.  Founder of the Clef
        Club, Europe joined the 15th, and later, 369th Infantry Regiments.
        The military band he formed during World War I was one of the most
        popular in all of Europe.

1936 - Italy occupies the city of Addis Ababa, annexing Ethiopia. This was
        the beginning of a five year occupation, which will end in 1941.

1952 - Canada Lee dies in New York at the age of 45. A jockey and amateur
        boxer before turning to acting, Lee achieved wide acclaim for his
        portrayal of Bigger Thomas in the 1941 Broadway play "Native Son" and
        for the film, "Cry the Beloved Country."

1960 - Nigeria becomes a member of the British Commonwealth.

1974 - The House Judiciary Committee formally opens its impeachment hearings
        against President Richard M. Nixon with representatives John Conyers,
        Jr. (D-Mich.) and Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) among members of the
        committee.  Jordan, in particular, distinguishes herself as an
        eloquent and incisive contributor to the hearings process.

1977 - Mabel Murphy Smythe is confirmed as Ambassador to the Republic of
        Cameroon.

1987 - Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the banned Action Group and leader
        of the Yorubas of western Nigeria and first premier of the defunct
        Western Region, dies at the age of 78.

        Eddie Murray, of the Baltimore Orioles, is the first baseball player
        to hit home runs as a switch hitter in 2 consecutive games.

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        The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,
        "InfoBeat," "I, Too, Sing America - The African American
        Book of Days," and independent research by the
        Information Man.
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