This Day In Quiztory

#OTD Playwright and best selling novelist Walter Mosley was born in Los Angeles, CA. Happy 70th birthday!

Happy 51st Birthday, Mary J. Blige! The queen of hip-hop/soul was born #OTD in Bronx, NY.

#OTD Chris Smith, aka Daddy Mac, one half of the rap duo Kris Kross, was born in Atlanta, GA.

#OTD The James Weldon Johnson Collection of American Negro Arts and Letters, established by photographer Carl Van Vechten, opened on the campus of Yale University.

#OTD Recording artist Kathy Sledge, the youngest member of the family singing group Sister Sledge, was born in Philadelphia, PA.

#OTD Pioneering dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey was born in Rogers, Texas. Today we celebrate his life and legacy. Actress Caryn Ward Ross narrates.

#OTD The nation's first African American female attorney, Charlotte E. Ray, passed away at the age of 60. Today we honor her life and groundbreaking achievements.

#OTD The original incarnation of the syndicated late night talk show "The Arsenio Hall Show" premiered and ran for 1,400+ episodes over six seasons.

#OTD Abolitionist Harriet Tubman arrived in Auburn, NY after what was her final rescue mission.

#OTD Ruth Carol Taylor, the first African American flight attendant in the country, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Today we celebrate a true pioneer on her 90th birthday.

#OTD William Washington Browne founded a chapter of the Grand Fountain of the United Order For True Reformers, a fraternal society for African Americans, in Richmond, VA.

#OTD Healy Hall on the campus of Georgetown University, named for the school's 29th president Patrick Francis Healy, was declared a National Historic Landmark.

#OTD Art historian James Amos Porter was born in Baltimore, MD. Recording artist Bowlegged Lou from the group Full Force narrates.

#OTD Jazz legend Duke Ellington was awarded a Spingarn Medal. He was the 45th recipient of the NAACP's highest honor. Recording artist Nicci Gilbert narrates.

Forty years ago, the Broadway musical Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre. The original cast starred Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holliday.

#OTD Saxophonist and smooth jazz pioneer Grover Washington, Jr. passed away at the age of 56. Today we celebrate his life and legacy.

#OTD The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was formed by a group of ministers in Jackson, TN.

Educator and civil rights activist Septima Clark, sometimes referred to as the "Mother of the Movement," passed away at the age of 89.

#OTD Recording artist Dinah Washington passed away at the young age of 39.

Boxer Archie Moore, hall of fame light heavyweight champion who held the title for nine years, was born in Benoit, Mississippi.