Person    | Male 

John Blanke

Categories: Music / songs, Race Issues

Countries: Africa

Trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. He probably came to England as one of the African attendants of Catherine of Aragon in 1501, and is one of the earliest recorded black people in England after the Roman period. Wikipedia strangely says that his surname may be a reference to his skin colour, derived either from the word 'black' or from the French 'blanc' meaning white!

The first person of African descent in British history for whom there is both an image and a record.

This image shows Blanke playing at the Westminster Tournament of 1511.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
John Blanke

Commemorated ati

John Blanke

Black trumpeter John Blanke musician at the courts of Henry VII & Henry V...

Read More

John Blanke - Trinity Laban Conservatoire

'fl' stands for 'floruit' (Latin) which means 'he or she flourished', and den...

Read More

Other Subjects

Adolphe Goossens

Adolphe Goossens

Horn player. Son of Eugene Goossens.  Killed on the Somme.

Person, Music / songs

1 memorial
Freddy Randall

Freddy Randall

Trumpeter. Born in Clapton, East London. He led the St. Louis Four in 1939, and during the war played in a group featuring Sir John Dankworth. He also led his own Dixieland jazz group which feature...

Person, Music / songs

1 memorial
BBC Radiophonic Workshop

BBC Radiophonic Workshop

It was created to meet the demands for innovative music and sound effects for radio and television. It is most famous for producing the original theme tune to 'Doctor Who', and was also responsible...

Media, Music / songs, TV & Radio

1 memorial
Bela Bartok

Bela Bartok

Composer and pianist. Born Béla Viktor János Bartók in Nagyszentmiklós in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Romania). He was greatly influenced by Zoltán Kodály and they travelled together, collecting fo...

Person, Music / songs, Seriously Famous, Hungary, USA

2 memorials
The Stooges

The Stooges

An American rock band, previously billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges. This photo shows them at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2010. Iggy Pop and the Stooges playe...

Group, Music / songs, USA

1 memorial