Short answers, pulled from the story.
The word black comes from Old English blæc, which meant both dark and ink. This term traces back to Proto-Germanic blakkaz meaning burned and further extends to Proto-Indo-European bhleg- describing burning or shining.
The country was named after the river Niger mentioned in the 1520s by Leo Africanus. He likely altered a local Tuareg name based on the Latin word for black.
The Lascaux Cave in France contains drawings of bulls and other animals created between 18,000 and 17,000 years ago. Paleolithic artists began using charcoal to create their lines before achieving darker pigments by burning bones or grinding manganese oxide powder.
As of September 2019 the darkest material comes from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. MIT engineers grew this material which has a 99.995% absorption rate for any incoming light surpassing former materials including Vantablack.
Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion in 1926 by publishing a simple black dress drawing in Vogue magazine. She famously stated women need three things: a black dress sweater and a man she loves.