On July 10, the area entered the history books when the mercury climbed to a blistering 134 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius) at Furnace Creek, California, breaking the record for the highest temperature ever recorded.
Carl Stokes, the first black mayor of a major American city: Black History Month. View full sizePlain Dealer file photoCarl Stokes, shown in 1968 in downtown Cleveland, focused many of his efforts as mayor on improving city services and helping Cleveland's poorest residents.
The Americasâ First Black and Native President: Vicente Guerrero. Vicente Guerrero. For this Presidentâs Day in the United States, weâre honoring the first black president in the Americas. No, not Obama â this guy was Vicente RamÃ³n Guerrero SaldaÃ±a, the first black and indigenous president of Mexico. Known as the George Washington and the Abraham Lincoln of Mexico, Guerrero was a leading general in the Mexican War for Independence, and abolished slavery in 1829, forty years before Lincoln would do the same.