Pioneer aviator, Hubert Julian born on September 21, 1897 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He was one of the first African Americans to get a pilot's license in the United States. Born into a well-to-do family, His father, Henry, was a cocoa plantation manager in Toco. At a young age he was sent to England for school, however the dangers of the first World War caused his family to move him to Montreal. Julian’s first plane ride came in November of 1919, with World War I hero, Billy Bishop, for a ten minute ride in a Sopwith Camel. At first flight, he was in love with aviation. By 1921, Julian nicknamed "The Black Eagle” intended to fly to Africa and become the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. He dubbed his airplane Ethiopia I, however, his plane crashed into the water off Flushing, New York, and Julian spent the next month in the hospital recovering from injuries. In 1921, Julian left Montreal for good and moved to Harlem. Once there he joined Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association adopted a new persona, christening himself "Lieutenant Hubert Julian" of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Two years after Charles Lindbergh’s legendary flight in 1927, Hubert Julian made his Trans-Atlantic flight and became a well-known figure in the African-American and Afro-Caribbean community. He was a staunch promoter of aviation as one of the first Black people to get a pilot's license. A series of articles titled "Black Eagle" were published in the New York Amsterdam News newspaper in 1937 and 1938. After the end of World War II Julian become a licensed arms dealer. In 1965, his biography, Black Eagle, was published by The Adventurers Club in London. Julian spent his retirement meeting the likes of Muhammad Ali and appearing on The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show. #HubertJulian died on February 19, 1983 and was buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York. Artist: #ReedRMcCants#BlackHistory #Aviator #BHMD