I Did Not Know That

Here is a mini-bio of Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point. I knew he was the first black graduate of West Point. What I did not know was this:

In 1919 Senator [Albert] Fall [R-NM] called Flipper to Washington, D.C., as a translator and interpreter for his subcommittee. Upon his appointment as secretary of the interior in 1921, Fall appointed Flipper assistant to the secretary of the interior. In that position Flipper became involved with the Alaskan Engineering Commission.

It sure is interesting that the reactionary Harding administration had a black assistant secretary of the interior. I did not know that.

(Flipper was not involved in the Teapot Dome scandal.)