death_date death_place birth_place name birth_date known_for image article_title birth_name occupation
21 october 1911 jacksonville , florida , united states jacksonville , florida , united states pat chappelle 7 january 1869 owner , the first travelling vaudeville company owned and managed by and african-americans manager of the rabbit 's foot company pat chappelle.jpg pat chappelle
 patrick henry chappelle theatre owner , entrepreneur
pat chappelle

patrick henry `` pat '' chappelle -lrb- january 7 , 1869 -- october 21 , 1911 -rrb- , was an african american theatre owner and entrepreneur , who established and ran the rabbit 's foot company , a leading traveling vaudeville show in the first part of the twentieth century .
he became known as one of the biggest employers of african americans in the entertainment industry , with multiple tent traveling shows and partnerships in strings of theaters and saloons .
chappelle was described at that time as the `` pioneer of negro vaudeville '' and `` the black p. t. barnum , '' and was the only african-american to fully operate a traveling show solely composed of african-american entertainers .
