Bunche was born in Detroit, MI, August 7, 1904.

1904-71, U.S. diplomat; b. Detroit. He was (1945) the first African American to be a division head in the U.S. Dept. of State.

With an education from UCLA and Harvard, Ralph Bunche went on to do worldwide research in colonial administration and race relations. During World War II he worked for the US War Department, Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency), and the State Department .

He was a key member of the United Nations and won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his negotiation of an Arab-Israeli truce in Palestine in 1949, the first American Negro to receive the honor. Bunche was also awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award in 1963 by then President John F. Kennedy.