Excerpt from Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop by Frankie Manning and Cynthia R. Millman. Temple University Press, 2007
| 1914 | Born on May 26 in Jacksonville, Florida. |
|---|---|
| 1926 | Savoy Ballroom opens at Lenox Avenue and 140th Street in Harlem. |
| 1933 | First ventures to Savoy Ballroom. |
| 1934 | Invited by Herbert “Whitey” White to join elite group of Savoy Lindy hoppers. |
| 1935 | Introduces the first Lindy air step, over-the-back. Introduces “stops” and synchronized ensemble lindy routines. |
| 1936 | Whyte’s Hopping Maniacs appear in downtown reopening of the Cotton Club. |
| 1937 | Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers appear in A Day at the Races (uncredited). |
| 1938 | Whitey’s Hopping Maniacs appear in Radio City Revels (uncredited). |
| 1939 | Arthur White’s Lindy Hoppers appear in Keep Punching. |
| 1941 | Congeroo Dancers appear in Hellzapoppin’. Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers appear in Hot Chocolate (“Cottontail”) with Duke Ellington. |
| 1943 | Inducted into Army. Serves in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. |
| 1947 | FM’s new group, the Congaroo Dancers, debuts at Roxy Theatre. |
| 1948 | Four Congaroos appear in Killer Diller. |
| 1955 | Disbands the Congaroo Dancers. Goes to work for the U.S. Postal Service. |
| 1958 | Savoy Ballroom closes. |
| 1986 | Begins teaching career by agreeing to work with Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell. |
| 1987 | Retires from the post office. |
| 1989 | Wins Tony Award for Best Choreography for Black and Blue with Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, and Fayard Nicholas. |
| 1992 | Serves as consultant/performer in Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X. Serves as assistant choreographer/performer with Norma Miller in Debbie Allen’s Stompin’ at the Savoy. |
| 1994 | Receives NEA Choreographers’ Fellowship. |
| 1999 | Performs in PBS special, Swinging’ with Duke, featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. |
| 2000 | Receives NEA National Heritage Fellowship. Appears in Ken Burns’s documentary, Jazz. |
| 2000 | Performs in PBS special, Swinging’ with Duke, featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. |
| 2007 | Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop is published. |
| 2009 | Died on April 27, 2009, in Manhattan, New York. |
