In 1990
- Nelson Mandela released from prison after 27 years as South African political prisoner
In 2016
- Dr. Paula Johnson, a Harvard Medical School faculty member, is named as the 14th President of Wellesley College, becoming the first African American to hold the position
In 1996
- Penn's Baccalaureate Speaker was the Right Reverend Barbara Clementine Harris, a Philadelphian who was the first woman ever to become a bishop in the Anglican Communion.
In 1976
- Clifford Alexander, Jr. is confirmed as the first African American Secretary of the Army