Carter G. Woodson is often called the "Father of Black History".

Black History Month began as a single week in 1926.

In the United States, Black History Month is celebrated in July.

President Abraham Lincoln was the first president to recognise Black History Month as a whole month.

The Underground Railroad was a real railway with trains that ran under the ground.

Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery and became a famous speaker and writer.

George Washington Carver invented peanut butter.

Katherine Johnson checked the calculations for John Glenn's 1962 flight around the Earth.

Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's colour barrier in 1947 playing for the New York Yankees.

Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Los Angeles.

Ruby Bridges was six years old when she became the first Black student at her all-white elementary school in New Orleans.

Mae Jemison was the first Black woman to travel into space.

Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.

Thurgood Marshall was the first Black justice on the US Supreme Court.

Louis Armstrong was famous for playing the violin.

Juneteenth marks the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to the US Congress.

Serena Williams became famous as a champion golfer.

Barack Obama was the first Black president of the United States.