Who was Yale's first Black student?

Asked by: Green Wyman  |  Last update: January 13, 2026
Score: 4.7/5 (67 votes)

Yale Alumni Magazine: Yale's first African American students (Jan/Feb 06) About 175 years have passed since a fugitive slave named James Pennington became the first African American to study at Yale.

Who was the first black student to graduate from Harvard?

Harvard University Archives. Richard Theodore Greener (1844-1922), professor, lawyer, and diplomat, was the first Black graduate of Harvard College, receiving his AB from the College in 1870.

Who was the first black College student?

In 1799, Washington and Lee University admitted John Chavis who is noted as the first African American on record to attend college. However, the first African American to have earned a bachelor's degree from an American university, Alexander Lucius Twilight, graduated from Middlebury College in 1823.

Who was the first black person to graduate from an Ivy League school?

1857: Richard Henry Green is the first African American to graduate from Yale College. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed graduates from the Yale School of Medicine. 1862: Mary Jane Patterson, a teacher, graduates with a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College.

Who was the first black person to graduate from Stanford University?

In 2004, the Black Community Services Center joined an effort to give Ernest Houston Johnson a new headstone to replace his old, rotting grave marker. It read: 'A graduate of the pioneer class at Stanford University'. Ernest was the first Black pioneer at Stanford, but certainly not the last.

Meet Kahlil Greene: The First Black Student Body President of Yale University

25 related questions found

Who was the first Black man to get into Harvard?

Until now, most frequently cited as the first Black students at Harvard are David Laing, Jr., Isaac H. Snowden, and Martin R. Delany, who were admitted to the Harvard Medical School in November 1850.

Who was the first Black man to graduate from MIT?

Robert Robinson Taylor (June 8, 1868 – December 13, 1942) was the first known black student to attend and graduate from MIT. He enrolled in 1888 and graduated with the Class of 1892. Taylor is also considered to be the first accredited, academically trained African-American architect.

When did Yale allow Black students?

In 1870, Edward Alexander Bouchet became the first black person to enroll in Yale College. Bouchet, also the son of a Yale employee, was the valedictorian of the Hopkins School in New Haven. He was the first African American in the country elected to Phi Beta Kappa and ranked sixth in the Class of 1874.

What famous Black went to Harvard?

W.E.B.

Du Bois was a prominent civil rights activist, historian, and sociologist who was the first Black person to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard College in 1890 and went on to earn his Ph.

When did Ivy League schools allow Black students?

Ivy League presidents called the ruling "disappointing" and "unwelcome." Some Ivy League universities didn't admit women and Black students until the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

Who was the second African American to get a PhD?

After completing his PhD, Woodson returned to the Armstrong School as principal in 1914 where he emphasized the importance of both vocational and liberal arts education. In 1912, he earned his PhD in History from Harvard University, making him the second Black American (only following W.E.B.

Who were the 4 black college students?

The Greensboro Four (as they would soon be known) were Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond, all young black students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in their freshman year who often met in their dorm rooms to discuss what they could do to stand against ...

Who was the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard?

Du Bois, the first Black person to earn a PhD from Harvard, used his talent and intellect to pave a path toward racial uplift. W. E. B. Du Bois was a scholar, public intellectual, author, orator, and activist who used his powerful voice and influence to illuminate issues of race, racism, and Black consciousness.

How much of Harvard is Black?

Of the students who reported their race on their application, the number of students identifying as African American or Black decreased 4 percentage points (from 18% to 14%) from last year's class, and the number of students identifying as Native American decreased from 2% to 1%.

Who got a degree from Harvard and started Black History Month?

Woodson. Carter G. Woodson was a scholar whose dedication to celebrating the historic contributions of Black people led to the establishment of Black History Month, marked every February since 1976.

What is the whitest ivy?

Ivy League race demographics: how diverse are they?
  1. Harvard University: - White: 35% - Asian: 24% ...
  2. Yale University: - White: 40% ...
  3. Princeton University: - White: 39% ...
  4. University of Pennsylvania: - White: 35% ...
  5. Columbia University: - White: 30% ...
  6. Dartmouth College: - White: 48% ...
  7. Brown University: - White: 45% ...
  8. Cornell University:

Are there white kids at Howard?

The enrolled student population at Howard University is 66.6% Black or African American, 6.34% Hispanic or Latino, 4.51% Two or More Races, 3.44% Asian, 1.09% White, 0.908% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.14% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.

What is the most prestigious Black ivy?

Which HBCU Is The Most Prestigious? Spelman College is the most prestigious HBCU. Followed by Howard University and Tuskegee University.

Who went to Yale at 13?

Jonathan Edwards, a 1720 alumnus, theologian and child prodigy, was admitted to Yale at age 13, and went on to become one of the most celebrated theologians of his era.

What percent of Yale is black?

Enrollment by Race & Ethnicity

The enrolled student population at Yale University is 35.6% White, 16.8% Asian, 11.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.88% Black or African American, 5.38% Two or More Races, 0.284% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.142% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.

When did Princeton allow black students?

The first African American to enter Princeton as an undergraduate during peacetime was Joseph Ralph Moss. A resident of Princeton, Moss entered the University in the autumn of 1947 and graduated on June 12, 1951.

Who was the first black Harvard grad?

Harvard's first Black graduate, Richard T. Greener, went on to become the first Black professor at the University of South Carolina and dean of the Howard University School of Law. Born in Philadelphia in 1844, Richard T. Greener moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his parents at age nine.

What famous actor went to MIT?

Honorary mention: James Woods dropped out of MIT in his final year of studying political science in 1969 to pursue a successful career in acting, having so far received three Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe and two Academy Award nominations. This blog post was originally published in September 2015.

Why did Peter get rejected from MIT?

In 2024, following the controversy surrounding Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man being revealed, he, Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds were all rejected from the university. In order to reverse this, Parker enlisted the help of Doctor Strange to make his identity a secret again.