People, Locations, Episodes

Joseph S. Clark, Educator born

*Joseph Clark was born on this date in 1871. He was a Black administrator and educator. Joseph Samuel Clark was born in Sparta, an unincorporated town in Bienville Parish, LA, in 1871 to Philip and Jane Clark.   He studied at Coleman, Bishop College, and Leland College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1901. He […]

Selena Sloan Butler, Georgia Educator born

Selena Sloan Butler was born on this date in 1872. She was an African American educator and community leader.

William H. Davis, Government Administrator born.

*William H. Davis was born on this date in 1872. He was a Black educator, pharmacist, and American government official. William Henry Davis was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to former slaves Jerry and Susan Davis. He graduated from Louisville Colored High School in June 1888 at 16, second in his class of eighteen students. Davis […]

Bethune Cookman Institute is Founded

*The creation of Cookman Institute in 1872 is celebrated on this date. This was one of the first schools for Blacks that preceded America’s many Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Elizabeth Wright, Educator, and Administrator born

*On this date in 1872, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright. She was a Black educator and administrator. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright was born in rural Talbotton, Georgia. Her father, John Wesley Wright, was an African American carpenter. Her mother, Virginia Rolfe, was a Native American Cherokee woman. Wright went to a school held in a church basement. In 1888, she attended Tuskegee Institute as a night […]

Paul Quinn College is Founded

*On this date in 1872, Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a private Historically Black College (HBCU) in Dallas, Texas. The College is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). It is the oldest Historically Black College west of the Mississippi River and the nation’s first urban work college. The College was founded in Waco, Texas, by a small group of African Methodist Episcopal preachers at […]

Solomon Fuller, Physician born

*Solomon Fuller was born on this date in 1872. He was a Black Liberian physician, psychiatrist, pathologist, and professor.  Solomon Carter Fuller was born in Monrovia, Liberia, to Americo-Liberian parents. His father, Solomon, had become a coffee planter and government official in Liberia. His mother, Anna Ursula James, was the daughter of physicians and medical […]

Edward Waters College is Founded

The founding of Edward Waters College (EWC) in Jacksonville FL, in 1872 is celebrated on this date. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Following the Civil War, the first bishop of Florida, Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, sent the Reverend Charles H. Pearce to Florida to establish another church. Pearce heeded the call to educate newly emancipated Blacks in the state and he raised funds to establish a school in 1866, which evolved as Edward Waters College, named after the third bishop.

Beebe Steven Lynk, Chemistry Professor born.

*Beebe Steven Lynk was born on this date in 1872. She was a Black chemist and professor. Beebe Stevens was born in Mason, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Henderson Stevens and Jule Ann (Boyce) Stevens. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Lane College in teaching in 1892 at the age of 20. In 1893, […]

Albert Meyzeek, Educator, and Activist born

*Albert Meyzeek was born on this date in 1872. He was a Black educator and activist. Albert Ernest Meyzeek was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of John E. and Mary (Lott) Meyzeek. He spent his early childhood years in Toronto, Canada. His father, of Huguenot French ancestry, married Mary Lott, a Black woman, in […]

The University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff is Founded

*The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) was founded on this date in 1873. It is a public Historically Black College and University (HBCU).   It is located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and is the second-oldest public institution in Arkansas. UAPB is a member school of the University of Arkansas System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.  Authorized by the Reconstruction-era legislature […]

Colored School #8 (St. Louis, Missouri) Opens

Colored School #8’s opening in 1873 is celebrated on this date. This was a school for Blacks and was operated by a Board of Education for Colored Schools.

Charles P. Adams, Educator born

The birth of Charles P. Adams, Sr., in 1873 is marked on this date. He was an African American educator and administrator.

Bennett College is Founded

The founding of Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., Carolina, in 1873 is celebrated on this date. Bennett is one of the over 100 Historical Black College and Universities in America, and one of only two that specifically educate women.

The Gilbert Academy and Agricultural College Opens

*The Gilbert Academy and Agricultural College is celebrated on this date in 1873. Located in Baldwin, Louisiana, it was associated with New Orleans College, serving as a preparatory school and feeder to the college and as an agricultural and industrial branch. The story of the institution is unique. It grew out of a movement before […]