On this day March 17 - 1806 Norbert Rillieux, chemical engineer, inventor and Egyptologist, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. The son of an inventor and engineer, Rillieux was educated in Paris schools and, at 24, became an instructor at LEcole Centrale and published papers on steam economy. Rillieux is best known for inventing the multiple evaporation process used to refine sugar and manufacture paper. The process was widely used in France. In 1934, the sugar industry honored Rillieux with a plaque in the Louisiana State Museum. - 1865 Aaron Anderson wins the Navys Medal of Honor for his heroic actions aboard the USS Wyandank during the Civil War. - 1891 West Virginia State College is founded in Institute. - 1919 Nat King Cole, singer, was born in Montgomery, AL - 1946 Jackie Roosevelt Robinson made his professional debut as a member of the Montreal Royals in the Daytona Beach ballpark that now bears his name. One year later, Robinson would break Major League Baseballs color barrier and earn the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson batted .311 in ten Major League seasons and was named the National Leagues Most Valuable Player. Robinson was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, 16 years after his historic debut in Daytona Beach. - 1970 Jacob Lawrence was the first artist to receive the Spingarn Medal in 1970 for eminence among American painter - 1999 Maurice Ashley, an immigrant from Jamaica, was 14 and living in Brooklyn, when he fell in love with the game of chess after reading a book about Paul Morphy, a 19th-century Louisianan who was Americas first great chess player. Ever since, Ashley has focused his life on the game. As a student at Brooklyn Technical High School, he joined the Black Bear School of Chess. From 1991 to 1997, Ashley was the chess director of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, at which he led teams to three national championships. On March 17, 1999 he became the latest of the worlds 470 grandmasters, and the first black person to reach the games highest rank as a result of his play in a tournament sponsored by the Manhattan Chess Club. The rank is conferred by the International Chess Federation to players who amass a set number of points in 24 official games played within a seven-year period. Of the federations 85,000 members, 45 are grandmasters, including 10 in the New York City area. Before winning his last points, Ashleys rank was international master, one step below grandmaster
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:00:01 +0000
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