American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Secretary of Energy

Hazel R. O'Leary

Hazel Reid O'Leary is an American lawyer, politician, and university administrator who served as the 7th United States secretary of energy from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Leary was the first woman and first African American to hold that post. She also served as the 14th president of Fisk University from 2004 to 2013, a historically black college and her alma mater. O'Leary's tenure at Fisk came amid financial difficulty for the school, during which time she increased enrollment and contentiously used the school's art collection to raise funds.

Born

1937

May 17

Died

Living

Era

1930s

Country

—

About

Hazel, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1937 Born

Also on May 17

What else happened on this day, through history

352 Election of Pope Liberius following the death of Pope Julius I in the previous month.
884 Election of Pope Hadrian III following the death of Pope Marinus I earlier that month.
1012 The comital family of Tusculum arranges the election of the count's son as Sergius IV following the death of Pope Marinus I earlier that month.
1395 Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.

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The world in 1937

When Hazel arrived

april 1 Aden becomes a British crown colony.
april 1 The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.
april 12 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
april 26 Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on May 17

Anna Brownell Jameson 1794– Irish-English author (died 1860) Bob Saget 1956–2022 American comedian, actor, and television host (born 1956) Christine Ohuruogu 1984– English runner Danny Manning 1966– American basketball player and coach Dennis Potter 1935– English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994) Earl Morrall 1934–2014 American football player and coach (born 1934) Henri Barbusse 1873–1935 French journalist and author (born 1873) Howard Hampton 1952– Canadian lawyer and politician Maureen O'Sullivan 1911–1998 Irish-American actress (born 1911)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1937

Abner Haynes 1937–2024 American football player (born 1937) Alain Badiou 1937– French philosopher and academic Alice Coltrane 1937–2007 American pianist and composer (died 2007) Barry Switzer 1937– American football player and coach Bill Cosby 1937– American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter Billy Meier 1937– Swiss author and photographer Birju Maharaj 1937–2022 Indian dancer, composer, singer and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance (died 2022) Bobby Charlton 1937–2023 English footballer and manager (died 2023) Carlos Lamarca 1937–1971 Brazilian captain (died 1971)

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More to explore

Hazel's birthday May 17 Hazel's zodiac Taurus When Hazel arrived 1937