Duke Ellington changed American music.

First black astronaut in space.

Thurgood Marshall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Marian Anderson was born on February 27th, 1897 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At just 6 years old, Anderson was already singing in the Union Baptist Church Choir.

In the 1800’s, the Kingsley Plantation, in present-day Jacksonville, was the home of Zephaniah Kingsley.

Malivai Washington, a Ponte Vedra native, started playing tennis when he was just five years old. Washington played in his first tournament when he was 7 years old and won his first title at 8.

Jacksonville’s very own Tony Hansberry Jr. developed a new surgical technique in reproductive health while in 9th grade at Darnell-Cookman.