Dr. Kelly Miller: Johns Hopkins University's First Black Student
Born in South Carolina in 1863, Dr. Kelly Miller was a leading African-American intellectual for more than half a century, and the first African-American to attend the Johns Hopkins University. After graduating from Howard University, Dr. Miller was admitted to the graduate program in Johns Hopkins University's Department of Mathematics in 1887. After two years, however, he withdrew from the university without a degree.
In 1889, Mr. Miller re-enrolled in a graduate program at Howard University. He ultimately earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics was appointed a professor at Howard in 1890. In 1895, he introduced Sociology to the curriculum there and was a professor of Sociology from 1895 to 1934. As Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, he is credited with modernizing the classical curriculum at Howard, and strengthening the university's programs in the natural and social sciences.
Dr. Miller was also a prolific writer and an outspoken advocate for African-American education. Through the 1920s and 1930s, he authored a weekly column that appeared in more than 100 newspapers nationwide.
Central to Dr. Miller's ideas was a belief in providing a comprehensive educational system for African-Americans that would provide both vocational and intellectual instruction. Dr. Miller was also among the leading advocates of education for black children in the United States. He died in 1939.
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