Freeman, Martin Henry b. May 11, 1826 d. May 26, 1889 Educator. He was the first African-American to become a college president in the United States. The salutatorian of Middlebury College's class of 1849, in 1850 he began work as a professor at Pennsylvania's Avery College. He was noted for his expertise in science and mathematics, and in 1856 he became president of the institution, the first African-American in the United States to achieve such distinction. He became active in the "Back to Africa" movement and moved to Liberia in 1864...[Read More] (Bio by: Bill McKern) Palm Grove Cemetery, Monrovia, Montserrado, Liberia
Roberts, Joseph Jenkins b. March 15, 1809 d. February 24, 1876 First President of Liberia. He was raised in Petersburg, Virginia, where his stepfather, a free black man, ran a business transporting goods by river between Petersburg and Newport. Roberts was educated in Petersburg and augmented his studies by reading extensively in the large library of a local minister. In the early 1820s Liberia was founded by the American Colonization Society as a haven for former slaves. After working for his stepfather and apprenticing as a barber, Roberts joined most of...[Read More] (Bio by: Bill McKern) Palm Grove Cemetery, Monrovia, Montserrado, Liberia
b. May 11, 1826 d. May 26, 1889