Those We Lost — October 19

Honoring those we lost on October 19 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Benjamin Banneker

Born November 9, 1731 — died October 19, 1806

Astronomer, mathematician, almanac author, surveyor, farmer, and antislavery correspondent

Banneker published widely read almanacs, contributed calculations to the survey of the federal district, and directly challenged Thomas Jefferson’s claims about Black intellectual inferiority and slavery. He became an enduring symbol of Black scientific accomplishment and political argument in the early republic.

Marjorie Lee Browne

Born September 9, 1914 — died October 19, 1979

Mathematician and mathematics educator

Browne graduated cum laude from Howard University and earned her master’s (1939) and doctorate from the University of Michigan. She completed the doctoral requirements in 1949, though the degree was conferred at the next ceremony, in February 1950. She was among the first Black women in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. She taught for decades at North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University. She opened a path for Black women in mathematics and trained generations of mathematics teachers.

Son House

Born March 21, 1902 — died October 19, 1988

Delta blues singer, slide guitarist, songwriter, and preacher

House combined intense vocals, rhythmic slide guitar, and religious imagery in a small but profoundly influential body of work recorded for Paramount and the Library of Congress. He influenced Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and later blues and rock musicians, then became a central figure in the 1960s blues revival after being rediscovered in Rochester.

Thelma Mothershed-Wair

Born November 29, 1940 — died October 19, 2024

Member of the Little Rock Nine, teacher, and counselor

In 1957 Mothershed entered Little Rock Central High School as a junior and one of the nine Black students who desegregated it. She had a heart condition from birth but kept a near-perfect attendance record. She later taught home economics in the East St. Louis school system for twenty-eight years, retiring in 1994. With the rest of the Little Rock Nine, she received the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal in 1958 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.