All rights reserved. 1  Huguenots: Wars of Religion and the Edict of Nantes-Wars of Religion and the Edict of Nantes The conspiracy of Amboise (1560; see Amboise, conspiracy ...
Wentworth Cheswell is said to be the first African-American to be elected to office in America. He was one quarter Black and three quarters White. He was elected as town constable of Newmarket, New Hampshire, in 1768 and served in some government position thereafter until his death â well, to be precise, every year but one.
Edward W. Brooke, who in 1966 became the first African American popularly elected to the U.S. Senate and who influenced major anti-poverty laws before his bright political career unraveled over allegations of financial impropriety, died Jan. 3 at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 95.