Black History Knowledge — October 13

What happened on this day. These are the October 13 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1914 — Garrett Morgan received a patent for his safety hood

U.S. Patent No. 1,113,675, the second of Garrett Morgan’s two 1914 ‘Breathing Device’ patents (the first, No. 1,090,936, was issued March 24, 1914), was issued on October 13, 1914, for the hood-and-tube apparatus he sold as the Safety Hood, designed to let a wearer breathe in smoke and harmful gases. Morgan’s invention became associated with dramatic rescue work and stands as a major example of Black entrepreneurship and safety engineering.

1970 — Angela Davis was arrested after a nationwide search

Angela Davis was arrested at a New York motel on October 13, 1970, after being placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in connection with weapons used in the Marin County courthouse attack. Her arrest, imprisonment, international defense campaign, and 1972 acquittal became central to debates about political repression, prisons, Black liberation, and radical organizing.

2019 — Simone Biles won her 24th world medal, the most of any gymnast in history

On October 13, 2019, Simone Biles won gold on the balance beam at the World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, scoring 15.066. It was her 24th world medal, breaking her tie with Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus, who had set the mark of 23 in the 1990s. Earlier in the same championships she had passed Svetlana Khorkina as the most decorated female gymnast in world championship history. Biles, whom USA Gymnastics described as the first African-American gymnast to win a world all-around crown in 2013, became the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in world championship history.

Wear the history: Garrett Morgan — from the Black Knowledge Wear collection.