Those We Lost — October 30

Honoring those we lost on October 30 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

William J. Simmons

Born June 29, 1849 — died October 30, 1890

Baptist minister, educator, journalist, author, and college president

Born enslaved, Simmons became president of Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute, expanded the school that later bore his name, and published Men of Mark about Black leadership. His work strengthened Black higher education, the Black press, denominational leadership, and the preservation of nineteenth-century Black biography.

James Walker Hood

Born May 30, 1831 — died October 30, 1918

AME Zion bishop, educator, author, political leader, and public official

Hood organized AME Zion congregations in North Carolina, served in the 1868 state constitutional convention, held public offices, and helped establish Livingstone College. His ministry and political work linked Black church independence, education, Reconstruction government, voting rights, and resistance to segregation.

Leon ‘Chu’ Berry

Born September 13, 1908 — died October 30, 1941

Jazz tenor saxophonist

A Wheeling, West Virginia, native, Berry became one of the leading tenor saxophonists of the swing era and was a featured soloist in Cab Calloway’s orchestra. On October 27, 1941, while traveling with band members from an engagement at Conneaut Lake toward Toronto, he was badly injured when their car struck a bridge in heavy fog. Later tenor players cite him as a key influence, and he is honored in the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell)

Born c. 1965 — died October 30, 2002

DJ, producer, and record-label founder; member of Run-DMC

As Run-DMC’s DJ, Mizell helped carry hip-hop into the pop mainstream in the 1980s with hits including It’s Tricky and the group’s version of Walk This Way. He later started a record label, opened a studio in his Queens neighborhood, and helped develop new artists, including 50 Cent. Run-DMC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, and Mizell is honored on its plaque. Two men were convicted of his murder in February 2024.

John Woodruff

Born July 5, 1915 — died October 30, 2007

Olympic champion middle-distance runner, Army officer, and public servant

As a twenty-one-year-old University of Pittsburgh freshman, Woodruff won the 800 meters at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in 1:52.9. Boxed in by other runners, he stopped and restarted before passing the field. He later won national collegiate titles, served in the Army from 1941, and worked in New York as a teacher, welfare investigator, and parole officer. His victory, the first gold medal won by an African American runner at the Berlin Games, helped refute Nazi racial propaganda. He donated his gold medal to Pitt in 1990.