July 24, 1807 – Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge, was born in New York City.
July 25, 1916 – Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas mask, rescued six people from a gas-filled tunnel in Cleveland, OH.
July 26, 1948 – President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the U.S. armed forces.
July 27, 1880 – Alexander P. Ashbourne patented process for refining coconut oil.
July 28, 1868 – The 14th Amendment granting blacks full citizenship rights, became part of the Constitution.
