Before he was the first African-American elected as president of the United States, then-Harvard student Barack Obama was named the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review on this day in 1990. The role is considered the highest student position at Harvard Law School. He was only 28 years old at the time. 
Obama told the New York Times in 1990, ''The fact that I've been elected shows a lot of progress. It's encouraging. But it's important that stories like mine aren't used to say that everything is O.K. for Blacks."
He continued, "You have to remember that for every one of me, there are hundreds or thousands of Black students with at least equal talent who don't get a chance." 
Prof. Randall Kennedy, who teaches contracts and race relations law at Harvard, said at the time, ''For better or for worse, people will view it as historically significant. But I hope it won't overwhelm this individual student's achievement.''
Also on this day in 1945, reggae icon Bob Marley was born.