- James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri
- American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist
- Early innovator of jazz poetry
- Published first poem The Weary Blues in 1926
- Witter Bynner Undergraduate Poetry Prize in 1926
- Published Fine Clothes to a Jew in 1927
- Earned Bachelor of Arts from Lincoln University in 1929
- Published novel Not Without Laughter in 1930
- Co-wrote play Mule Bone with Zora Neale Hurston in 1931
- Published short story The Ways of White Folks in 1934
- Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1935
- Let America Be America Again, published poem in 1935
- Columnist for the Chicago Defender from 1942-62
- Awarded honorary Doctor of Letters from Lincoln University in 1943
- Published Montage of a Dream Deferred in 1951
- Awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1954
- Awarded Spingarn Medal in 1960
- Wrote play Black Nativity in 1961
- Awarded an honorary doctorate from Howard University in 1963
- Wrote play Jericho-Jim Crow in 1964
- Died at the age of 65 on May 27, 1967
Added Reading: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/langston-hughes, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/life.htm