This Day in History: 0000-08-24
1959 – “Asian American Elected to U.S. Senate for First Time
” Hiram Fong, who was one of Hawaii’s most prominent and successful businessmen at the time, was elected to represent Hawaii in the U.S. Senate. He became the first Asian American elected to the legislative body. He was also the first Asian American to seek the Republican party’s nomination for resident of the United States. Fong was the first in a long line of Asian American elected officials to represent Hawaii, including Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka and Mazie Hirono.
1963 - “First African-American Woman to Hold a Cabinet Position and Serve as a U.S. Ambassador” Advocate of women’s rights, Patricia Roberts Harris was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to co-chair the National Women’s Committee for Civil Rights. In 1965, one year after the civil rights act, Patricia R. Harris made history under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black female U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. She broke another barrier two years later as the first Dean of Law at her alma mater, Howard University; she became the first black woman to head a law school in the U.S.