Retrobituaries - Trivia, Quizzes, and Brain Teasers | Mental Floss

Oscar Micheaux, Hollywood's First Black Movie Mogul

Pioneering Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.

Oscar Micheaux, Hollywood's First Black Movie Mogul

Eliza Carpenter, the Black Jockey Who Made Horse Racing History

Eliza Carpenter was among the racers in the Land Run of 1893.

Eliza Carpenter, the Black Jockey Who Made Horse Racing History

Matthew Henson, the Arctic Explorer Who Stood on Top of the World

U.S. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Matthew Henson, the Arctic Explorer Who Stood on Top of the World

Bessie Coleman, the Black Cherokee Female Pilot Who Made Aviation History

Photo illustration by Riccardo Zagorodnez, Mental Floss. Plane/landscape, iStock via Getty Images. Portrait, New York Public Library // Public Domain

Bessie Coleman, the Black Cherokee Female Pilot Who Made Aviation History

Eugene Bullard, the World's First Black Fighter Pilot

Eugene Bullard made aviation history.

Alice Dunnigan, the First Black Woman Journalist to Get White House Press Credentials

Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University // No Known Copyright Restrictions

Audrey Munson, America’s First Supermodel—And First Nude Movie Star

Audrey Munson photographed in 1915.

Zora Neale Hurston, Genius of the Harlem Renaissance

Carl Van Vechten, Wikimedia // Public Domain

Lydia Locke, the Early 20th Century Opera Singer With a Life Ripped From the Tabloids

Photo collage by James Mato, Minute Media. Portraits: Wikimedia Commons. Newspaper clipping: Newspapers.com.

The Story of Kate Warne, America's First Female Private Detective

Kitty O'Neil, Trailblazing Speed Racer and Wonder Woman's Stunt Double

PHOTO COLLAGE BY DAMON AMATO, MINUTE MEDIA. MOTORCYCLE/CAR/DIVINGBOARD, ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES. PORTRAIT, MIDCO SPORTS MAGAZINE // YOUTUBE

Henry Johnson, the One-Man Army Who Fought Off Dozens of German Soldiers During World War I

New York State Military Museum // Public Domain

Reconstructing History: Anna Coleman Ladd, the Mask Artist of World War I

National Archives (165-WW-266B-7)

Dorothy Thompson, the Journalist Who Warned the World About Adolf Hitler

American writer, journalist, and feminist Dorothy Thompson in London in 1941

Remembering Nellie Bly, Rabblerouser and Pioneer of Investigative Journalism

H.J. Meyers via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of Snake Handler Grace Olive Wiley

Grace Olive Wiley with reptiles