On July 10, the area entered the history books when the mercury climbed to a blistering 134 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius) at Furnace Creek, California, breaking the record for the highest temperature ever recorded.
Carl Stokes, the first black mayor of a major American city: Black History Month. View full sizePlain Dealer file photoCarl Stokes, shown in 1968 in downtown Cleveland, focused many of his efforts as mayor on improving city services and helping Cleveland's poorest residents.
Macon Bolling Allen - Important Figures in U.S. History The first African-American licensed to practice law, as well as the first to hold a judicial position, in the U.S. Macon B. Allen, the 19th Century African-American trailblazer in the legal field. Early Life Macon Bolling Allen was born on August 4th, 1816 in Indiana, and he grew up as a free black man. He learned reading and writing on his own, and further refined his skills while teaching other after he received his first job as a school teacher. He then moved to Portland, Maine in the early 1840s in order to study law.