Black Panther Party Timeline
OCTOBER 1966
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton found the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland.
MAY 2, 1967
Armed Panthers invade the capitol in California to protest legislation limiting their right to bear arms.
MARCH 1968
Eldridge Cleaver publishes Soul on Ice, which becomes a best-seller.
APRIL 6, 1968
Shoot-out between Panthers and Oakland police leaves 17-year-old Panther Bobby Hutton dead.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1968
Newton found guilty of voluntary manslaughter of an Oakland police officer and is sentenced to two to 15 years; an appeals court reverses the conviction; two more trials end in mistrials.
JANUARY 17, 1969
UCLA shoot-out between Panthers and US organization kills leaders John Huggins and Bunchy Carter.
EARLY 1969
Panthers start free breakfast program for children. Other community programs follow.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1969
Opening of Chicago Eight trial. Bobby Seale and seven others are accused of crossing state lines to incite rioting at 1968 Democratic convention.
DECEMBER 4, 1969
A predawn raid by police leaves Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark dead in a Chicago apartment.
AUGUST 17, 1974
Newton is charged with murdering a prostitute and pistol-whipping a tailor and flees to Cuba, turning the Party over to Elaine Brown. He returns three years later, and is in and out of prison for that offense and for others over the next 15 years.
JANUARY 4, 1976
A Senate Intelligence Committee reveals the contents of an FBI report that shows that the FBI encouraged warfare between Black groups in California in late 1960's.
AUGUST 22, 1989
Huey Newton is killed in West Oakland.
OCTOBER 1966
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton found the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland.
MAY 2, 1967
Armed Panthers invade the capitol in California to protest legislation limiting their right to bear arms.
MARCH 1968
Eldridge Cleaver publishes Soul on Ice, which becomes a best-seller.
APRIL 6, 1968
Shoot-out between Panthers and Oakland police leaves 17-year-old Panther Bobby Hutton dead.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1968
Newton found guilty of voluntary manslaughter of an Oakland police officer and is sentenced to two to 15 years; an appeals court reverses the conviction; two more trials end in mistrials.
JANUARY 17, 1969
UCLA shoot-out between Panthers and US organization kills leaders John Huggins and Bunchy Carter.
EARLY 1969
Panthers start free breakfast program for children. Other community programs follow.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1969
Opening of Chicago Eight trial. Bobby Seale and seven others are accused of crossing state lines to incite rioting at 1968 Democratic convention.
DECEMBER 4, 1969
A predawn raid by police leaves Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark dead in a Chicago apartment.
AUGUST 17, 1974
Newton is charged with murdering a prostitute and pistol-whipping a tailor and flees to Cuba, turning the Party over to Elaine Brown. He returns three years later, and is in and out of prison for that offense and for others over the next 15 years.
JANUARY 4, 1976
A Senate Intelligence Committee reveals the contents of an FBI report that shows that the FBI encouraged warfare between Black groups in California in late 1960's.
AUGUST 22, 1989
Huey Newton is killed in West Oakland.