Those We Lost
Those We Lost — August 8
Aug
Honoring those we lost on August 8 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.
William Augustus Hinton
Born Dec 15, 1883 — died Aug 8, 1959
Bacteriologist, pathologist, medical educator, public health pioneer, and Harvard professor.
Hinton developed a more accurate blood test for syphilis and wrote the first medical textbook published by a Black American. In 1949, Harvard appointed him clinical professor of bacteriology and immunology, making him the university’s first Black professor.
Johnny Dodds
Born Apr 12, 1892 — died Aug 8, 1940
Jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, bandleader, and New Orleans jazz pioneer.
Dodds brought a powerful, blues-rooted clarinet sound to recordings with King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven. His work helped define early jazz in both New Orleans and Chicago and influenced generations of clarinetists.
John H. Johnson
Full name: John Harold Johnson
Born Jan 19, 1918 — died Aug 8, 2005
Publisher, entrepreneur, Johnson Publishing Company founder, and Black media pioneer.
Johnson founded Negro Digest, Ebony, and Jet, building one of the most influential Black-owned media companies in American history. His publications documented Black life, achievement, beauty, politics, and protest for a national audience often ignored by mainstream media.
Cannonball Adderley
Birth name: Julian Edwin Adderley
Born Sep 15, 1928 — died Aug 8, 1975
Jazz alto saxophonist, composer, educator, and bandleader.
Adderley joined Miles Davis on Kind of Blue before leading influential hard bop and soul jazz groups with his brother Nat. Recordings including “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” joined improvisational brilliance with the warmth of Black church, blues, and popular music.
Lamont Dozier
Full name: Lamont Herbert Dozier
Born Jun 16, 1941 — died Aug 8, 2022
Songwriter, producer, singer, arranger, and architect of the Motown sound.
As one-third of Holland–Dozier–Holland, Dozier helped write and produce an extraordinary run of hits for the Supremes, Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, and other Motown artists. His melodies, rhythms, and emotional directness shaped the sound of 1960s soul and popular music.
