James Mercer Langston Hughes

Brief Life History of James Mercer Langston

When James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on 1 February 1901, in Joplin, Jasper, Missouri, United States, his father, James Nathaniel Hughes, was 29 and his mother, Carolina Mercer Langston, was 28. He immigrated to San Francisco, California, United States in 1933 and lived in Russia, Soviet Union in 1967 and Nebraska, United States in 1967. He died on 22 May 1967, in New York City, New York, United States, at the age of 66, and was buried in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.

Photos and Memories (7)

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Family Time Line

James Nathaniel Hughes
1871–1934
Carolina Mercer Langston
1873–1938
Hughes
1900–1900
James Mercer Langston Hughes
1901–1967

Sources (16)

  • Langston Hughes, "United States 1950 Census"
  • Langston Hughes, "Find A Grave Index"
  • James Langston Hughes, "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011"

World Events (8)

1902 · So Much Farm Land

A law that funded many irrigation and agricultural projects in the western states.

1913 · The Woolworth Building Opens as the Tallest Building in the World

At 792 feet above Broadway, the Woolworth Building became the tallest building in the world and held the record for 17 years. The Woolworth Building was overshadowed by the Chrysler Building at 1,046 feet in 1930 and the Empire State Building at 1,454 feet in 1931. Retailer and mogul Frank W. Woolworth commissioned the Woolworth Building in 1910 with the intent of his namesake building to be the tallest in the world. The 13 million dollar project was financed in cash by Woolworth which allowed him freedoms in the design and construction of the ornate, gothic building. An opening ceremony was held on April 24, 1913 at which President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button from the White House and lit the historic building in New York City.

1919 · The Eighteenth Amendment

The Eighteenth Amendment established a prohibition on all intoxicating liquors in the United States. As a result of the Amendment, the Prohibition made way for bootlegging and speakeasies becoming popular in many areas. The Eighteenth Amendment was then repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. Making it the first and only amendment that has been repealed.

Name Meaning

English and Welsh: variant of Hugh with genitival or excrescent -s.

Irish and Scottish: adopted as an equivalent of Gaelic surnames based on the personal name Aodh ‘fire’, for example Ó hAodha, Mac Aodha; see McCoy and compare McHugh .

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Story Highlight

Facebook post by “Daily Black History Facts”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LATE GREAT & TALENTED, MR. LANGSTON HUGHES!! James Mercer Langston Hughes was a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators …

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