African-American Trailblazers from Illinois

• Minority Feature

For years, Illinois has had African-American pioneers in any field of endeavors. A recent online poll asked readers to vote for the 10 people who are the most inspiring African-American leaders in the state’s history. Here are five of the trailblazers who made the cut.

Patricia Roberts Harris was born in 1924 in Mattoon. She excelled in school and won a scholarship to Howard University, where she served as vice chair of the NAACP. Roberts graduated at the top of her class and went on to obtain a law degree. In 1965 she became the first African-American woman to serve as an ambassador to Luxembourg and hold a cabinet position in a presidential administration.

Cuba native Minnie Minoso began playing baseball as a boy. In 1946 he signed a $300-a-month deal to play for the New York Cubans of the Negro National League. After the Major League color barrier was lifted, Minoso signed with the Cleveland Indians but did not get the opportunity to play many games. In 1951, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox and became the first black player in the history of the franchise.

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TBT: Illinois’ First railroad locomotive begins operation in Meredosia

On this day in 1838, Illinois’ first railroad locomotive began operating in the village of Meredosia in Morgan County.

The locomotive traveled back and forth along a 12-mile stretch of track, which was one of the earliest segments of Illinois’ first railroad between Quincy and Danville.

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Did you know? The first mobile cell phone was invented in Schaumburg by Martin Cooper

Did you know? The first handheld cell phone was developed by Martin Cooper of Schaumburg.

Martin left his first job at Teletype Corporation in Chicago in 1954 and joined Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg, Illinois) as a senior development engineer in the mobile equipment group. He developed products including the first cellular-like portable handheld police radio system, produced for the Chicago police department in 1967. His inspiration for a cordless phone came from an episode of Star Trek when Captain James T. Kirk opened his communicator.

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Morton, Illinois: "Pumpkin Capital of the World"

• agriculture
• Morton
• Pumpkin

The pumpkin has been a North American staple since before long before the arrival of European settlers, and Illinois farmers continue the big orange squash’s long tradition by growing more pumpkins than anywhere else in the world. Illinois grows 90-95 percent of the pumpkins used in processed goods, with most of the processing taking place in Morton, Illinois – which has claimed the title of “Pumpkin Capital of the World” since 1978.

In 1920, Morton developed a canning plant, now owned by Nestle/Libby’s. The plant covers 5,000 acres of fertile farmland devoted to producing pumpkins.

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