Birthday Celebrations — September 1

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on September 1 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Henry E. Baker

Full name: Henry Edwin Baker Jr.

Born September 1, 1857 — died April 27, 1928

Patent examiner, attorney, and historian of Black inventors.

Baker spent decades at the U.S. Patent Office documenting African American patent holders, compiling the records that preserved the legacy of Black invention for the 1900 Paris Exposition and generations of historians. His pioneering work was recently honored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Anita Bush

Born September 1, 1883 — died February 16, 1974

Actress, producer, and pioneer of Black dramatic theater.

Known as the "Little Mother of Negro Drama," Bush founded the Anita Bush Stock Company at Harlem’s Lincoln Theatre in 1915, which became the Lafayette Players — the first major professional Black dramatic company, training hundreds of performers for stage and screen.

Rosa Guy

Full name: Rosa Cuthbert Guy

Born September 1, 1922 — died June 3, 2012

Novelist, playwright, and cofounder of the Harlem Writers Guild.

Born in Trinidad and raised in Harlem, Guy wrote groundbreaking fiction for young readers, including The Friends, centering Caribbean immigrant life and Black girlhood; some sources give later years for her birth.

Ron O’Neal

Born September 1, 1937 — died January 14, 2004

Actor, writer, and director.

O’Neal became a cultural icon as Youngblood Priest in Super Fly, then directed its sequel, Super Fly T.N.T. An award-winning stage actor first, he earned acclaim in No Place to Be Somebody before his film breakthrough.

Don Blackman

Full name: Donald Blackman

Born September 1, 1953 — died April 11, 2013

Jazz-funk pianist, singer, and songwriter.

The Queens keyboardist played with Roy Ayers and Lenny White’s Twennynine before his 1982 self-titled album, whose songs including "Holding You, Loving You" became sacred sampling material for hip-hop and R&B producers.

Billy Blanks

Full name: William Wayne Blanks

Born September 1, 1955

Martial artist, actor, and creator of Tae Bo.

A seven-time world karate champion who overcame dyslexia and a hip anomaly, Blanks fused boxing and taekwondo into Tae Bo, one of the biggest fitness phenomena of the 1990s.

Vinnie Johnson

Full name: Vincent Johnson

Born September 1, 1956

NBA guard, two-time champion, and entrepreneur.

"The Microwave" heated up instantly off the bench for the Pistons’ back-to-back title teams of 1989 and 1990. He later founded the Piston Group, one of the largest Black-owned automotive suppliers in America.

Eric Adams

Full name: Eric Leroy Adams

Born September 1, 1960

Police captain, state senator, borough president, and mayor of New York City.

Adams spent over two decades in the NYPD, cofounding 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, before his 2021 election as the second Black mayor in New York City history.

Tim Hardaway

Full name: Timothy Duane Hardaway Sr.

Born September 1, 1966

Basketball Hall of Famer, five-time All-Star, and Olympic gold medalist.

Hardaway’s killer crossover became one of basketball’s most imitated moves as he starred for Golden State’s Run TMC teams and the Miami Heat, shaping 1990s point guard play.

Clinton Portis

Full name: Clinton Earl Portis

Born September 1, 1981

NFL running back and two-time Pro Bowler.

Portis rushed for nearly 10,000 career yards for Denver and Washington, pairing punishing production with famously theatrical alter egos that made him one of the league’s great characters.

Daniel Sturridge

Full name: Daniel Andre Sturridge

Born September 1, 1989

English soccer striker.

Sturridge won the Premier League and Champions League with Chelsea and became one of Liverpool’s most lethal finishers, scoring in an England shirt at the World Cup.

Zendaya

Full name: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman

Born September 1, 1996

Actress, producer, and singer.

Zendaya became the youngest woman ever to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for Euphoria, adding global stardom through Spider-Man, Dune, and Challengers.