Voting Station

Eugene Bullard

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Aviator

The Resume

    (October 9, 1895-October 12, 1961)
    Born in Columbus, Georgia
    Served with the French infantry and French Air Service during World War I
    First African-American combat pilot
    Nicknamed 'The Black Swallow of Death'

Why he might be annoying:

    He changed his middle name from James to Jacques.
    He stowed away to Europe when he was twelve.
    He is sometimes credited with shooting down two German planes, but the kills were never officially confirmed.
    After being a pilot for nine months, he got into a fistfight with a French officer and was transfered back to the infantry.
    He spent his last years in obscurity, working as an elevator operator at Rockefeller Center.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He witnessed a mob trying to lynch his father.
    He was seriously wounded during the Battle of Verdun.
    Between the World Wars, he owned a nightclub in Paris and befriended Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong and Langston Hughes.
    During World War II, he joined the forces defending Orleans and was wounded by an exploding shell.
    After escaping to the US, he participated in several War Bond drives.
    During a riot after a Paul Robeson concert in Peekskill, New York, he was beaten by a mob, including policemen (1949).
    He was one of three men chosen to relight the Eternal Flame at the French Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (1954).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 23 Votes: 47.83% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 110 Votes: 46.36% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying