1821
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Key events
- March 3, 1821Thomas L. Jennings Receives First Patent Granted to a Black American
New York tailor Thomas L. Jennings received a US patent for a dry-cleaning process he called 'dry scouring,' becoming the first Black American known to receive a US patent. He used the proceeds to purchase the freedom of his enslaved family members and funded abolitionist causes.
- March 3, 1821Thomas L. Jennings Patents Dry-Scouring Process
New York tailor Thomas L. Jennings received US Patent 3306x for 'dry scouring' of clothes — a precursor to modern dry cleaning — becoming the first known Black American to hold a US patent. A free man in New York, Jennings used his patent earnings to purchase his family's freedom and fund abolitionist causes, including support for the American Anti-Slavery Society.
- June 21, 1821African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Formally Incorporated in New York
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which had operated informally since 1796 when Black members left John Street Methodist Church in New York, was formally incorporated and ordained its own ministers in 1821. James Varick was elected as its first superintendent bishop in 1822, establishing a second major independent Black denomination.
- 1821Samuel Cornish Founds First Black Presbyterian Church in New York
Samuel Cornish organized the First Colored Presbyterian Church (later Shiloh Presbyterian) in New York City in 1821, the first Black Presbyterian congregation in the city. Cornish went on to co-found Freedom's Journal in 1827 and The Colored American in 1837, combining pastoral leadership with pioneering Black journalism.
- 1821The African Grove Theatre
The first known Black theatre company opens in New York City.