The following list identifies some of Penn’s most notable African Americans along with their life dates, Penn degrees and connections, and major areas of achievement. Links are provided to their biographies or personal papers as they are found on the University Archives website.
- Abele, Julian Francis (1881-1950), B.A. in Arch. 1902
First African American to graduate from Penn’s Graduate School of Fine Arts - Adger, William (1856-1885), B.A. 1883
First African American to graduate from the College - Alexander, Raymond Pace (1897-1974), B.S. in Econ. 1920
Civil rights lawyer and Philadelphia city councilman - Alexander, Sadie Tanner Mossell (1898-1989), B.S. 1918, A.M. 1919, Ph.D. 1921, LL.B. 1927
First African American to receive a Ph.D. in Economics in the United States, first African American woman to earn a Penn law degree and to become a member of the Pennsylvania bar - Alexander, Virginia Margaret (1900 -1949), B.S. in Ed. 1920
Medical doctor in Philadelphia - Anderson, Elizabeth Mossell (1894 – 1975), B.S. in Ed. 1939
Dean of Women at Wilberforce University - Asbury, Ida Elizabeth (Bowser) (1869-1955), Cert. of Proficiency in Music, 1890
First African American woman to earn a Penn degree - Brister, James (1858-1916), D.D.S. 1881
First African American to receive a Penn degree of any kind - Cummings, Willis Nelson (1894-1991), D.D. 1919
First African American to become captain of a Penn varsity team (track) - Dickens, Helen Octavia (1909-2001), Sc.D. (hon.) 1982
First African American woman on the medical staff of Penn’s Medical School - Du Bois, W.E.B. (1868-1963)
Assistant in Sociology in the Wharton School, author and founder of the NAACP - Engs, Robert (1943-2013)
Member of Penn’s history faculty since 1972
Note: The Papers of Robert Engs Papers will be closed to researchers through 2040. - Fontaine, William Thomas Valeria (1909-1968), Ph. D. 1936
Penn’s first fully-affiliated and first tenured African American faculty member - Johnson, Francis (1792-1844)
First African American bandleader and composer to play at Penn events, including commencements - Lewis, Joseph Hunter (1870-1914), B.S. 1892, M.E. 1893
First African American to earn a Mechanical Engineering degree from Penn - Moore, Lewis Baxter (1866-1928), Ph.D. 1896
First African American to earn a Penn Ph.D., Dean of Howard University - Mossell, Aaron Albert (1863-1951), L.L.B. 1888
First African American to graduate from Penn’s Law School - Mossell, Nathan Francis (1856-1946), M.D. 1882
First African American to graduate from Penn’s Medical School - Taylor, John Baxter (1882-1908), V.M.D. 1908
Second African American athlete at Penn, first African American to win an Olympic gold medal (track) - Tucker, Miles (1856-1904), Ph.B. 1887
First African American graduate of the Wharton School - White, Samuel (c. 1845-1904)
Athletic trainer for Penn’s early sports teams - Wilson, Albert Monroe (1841-1904)
Janitor, messenger, lab assistant, friend to Penn students and faculty for a half century, and community medic - Woodard, Dudley Weldon (1881-1965), Ph.D. 1928
First African American at Penn (and second in the nation) to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, professor and Dean of Students at Howard University