Discover famous Black history people from the past and present
Here are biographies for some of the many historical and modern people celebrated during Black History Month. To learn more about these amazing people, click a name on the list below. You can also browse for famous figures in Black history by profession: Activists, Actors, Astronauts, Athletes, Brainiacs, Civil Rights Leaders, Educators, Mathematicians, Musicians, Singers, Tennis Players, and Writers.
Activists and Historical Figures
- Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman
- Orator Frederick Douglass
- Boston Massacre figure Crispus Attucks
- Massachusetts shipping magnate Paul Cuffe
- Bus-riding activist Rosa Parks
- Freed slave Denmark Vesey
- Antislavery activist Sojourner Truth
- South African President Nelson Mandela
- ‘Back to Africa’ leader Marcus Garvey
- Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad
- Legal figure Homer Plessy
- NAACP founder W. E. B. Du Bois
- Murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers
- Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Civil rights leader Coretta Scott King
- ‘Father of Black history’ Carter G. Woodson
- Lynching victim Emmett Till
- ‘Black Power’ advocate Malcolm X
- Black Panthers founder Huey Newton
- Educator Booker T. Washington
- Educator Mary McLeod Bethune
- Me Too founder Tarana Burke
- Early Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce
- Congressman and activist John Lewis
- Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall
- Politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
- Black Panther leader Fred Hampton
Figures in Science and Technology
- Colonial scientist Benjamin Banneker
- Blood bank pioneer Charles Drew
- Peanut genius George Washington Carver
- Arctic explorer Matthew Henson
- Daring flier Bessie Coleman
- Astronaut Guion Bluford
- Astronaut Mae Jemison
- Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
- Brain surgeon Ben Carson
People in the News
- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
- U.S. President Barack Obama
- First Lady Michelle Obama
- First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama
- Attorney General Loretta Lynch
- Attorney General Eric Holder
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
- General and Secretary of State Colin Powell
- Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
- Political activist Jesse Jackson
- BET founder Robert L. Johnson
- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
- Detroit mayor Coleman Young
- Trial lawyer Johnnie Cochran
- San Francisco mayor Willie Brown
- Newspaper columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr.
- Professor and talk show host Michael Eric Dyson
- Reverend Al Sharpton
- U.S. Senator Cory Booker
Writers
- Slave poet Phillis Wheatley
- National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman
- Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes
- Pulitzer-winning poet Natasha Trethewey
- Expatriate author James Baldwin
- Roots author Alex Haley
- Playwright Lorraine Hansberry
- Invisible Man author Ralph Ellison
- Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison
- Feminist writer Bell Hooks
- Soul On Ice author Eldridge Cleaver
- Native Son author Richard Wright
- Science fiction writer Octavia Butler
- Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni
- Writer and editor Jessie Fauset
- Pulitzer-nominated poet Maya Angelou
- The Color Purple author Alice Walker
- Invisible Man author Ralph Ellison
- A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich author Alice Childress
- Pulitzer-winning author Colson Whitehead
Entertainers
- Actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson
- Talk show host and business titan Oprah Winfrey
- Contralto Marian Anderson
- Singer and actress Dorothy Dandridge
- Dance masters The Nicholas Brothers
- Rock ‘n roll pianist Fats Domino
- Reggae legend Bob Marley
- Old-time composer W.C. Handy
- Guitarist Chuck Berry
- Rock ‘n roll star Little Richard
- Jazz singer Billie Holiday
- Pop superstar Michael Jackson
- Saxophonist Lester Young
- Oscar winner Viola Davis
- Oscar winner Halle Berry
- Blues guitarist Robert Johnson
- Actor Sidney Poitier
- Producer and film composer Quincy Jones
- Paris performer Josephine Baker
- Jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton
- Pianist and composer Duke Ellington
- Trumpeter Louis Armstrong
- Big band leader Count Basie
- Bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie
- Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis
- Blues singer Big Mama Thornton
- Singer and actress Lena Horne
- Comedian and actor Donald Glover
- Calypso singer and actor Harry Belafonte
- Rock pioneer Jimi Hendrix
- Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane
- Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson
- Bluse singer Bessie Smith
- Actor Ossie Davis
- Actress Ruby Dee
- Rap legend Tupac Shakur
- Rapper Dr. Dre
- Rapper Jay-Z
- Rapper and TV star Queen Latifah
- Actress and Duchess Meghan Markle
- Actor Eddie Murphy
- Singer and dancer Sammy Davis, Jr.
- Director and actor Tyler Perry
- Actor Mahershala Ali
- Soul Train creator Don Cornelius
- Producer and recording artist Ye West
- Saxophonis Sonny Rollins
- Filmmaker Spike Lee
- Flute-playing singer Lizzo
- Superstar singer Beyoncé
Athletes
- Barrier-breaker Jackie Robinson
- Tennis player Althea Gibson
- Quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick
- Home run king Hank Aaron
- ‘Say Hey Kid’ Willie Mays
- Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens
- Olympic sprinter Wilma Rudolph
- Tennis player Arthur Ashe
- Heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali
- Heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson
- NFL receiver Jerry Rice
- Tennis super-sister Venus Williams
- Tennis super-sister Serena Williams
- Basketball player Michael Jordan
- Basketball player Sheryl Swoopes
- Golfer Tiger Woods
- Ageless pitcher Satchel Paige
- Basketball player Julius “Dr. J” Erving
- Basketball player Wilt Chamberlain
- Basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Religious Figures
- Nobel Prize-winner Bishop Desmond Tutu
- First female Anglican Bishop Barbara Harris
- Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie
- Preacher T.D. Jakes
- African Cardinal Francis Arinze
Still haven’t found the Black History Month figure you’re looking for? Search the rest of our biographies using the box at the top of this page.
If you enjoyed this list, visit our list of Women’s History Month Biographies, too!
Have a good idea for a person to add? Please send it to [email protected]. Thanks!