Celebrating the Legacy of Edward Bouchet

As part of its Wake the Dream program, Yale University Library Human Resources  will sponsor a talk on the life and times of Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first African-American graduate of Yale College and first African American to receive a PhD.

Curtis L. Patton, PhD, Professor and Head, Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale Medical School, will deliver the talk on Tuesday, February 25, 2003, from 12:00-1:00pm in the Sterling Memorial Lecture Hall, 130 Wall Street.

Dr. Patton has been personally inspired by Edward Bouchet and  has long advocated honoring the legacy of Bouchet at Yale. He has been one  of the organizers of Yale's yearlong events honoring the 150th anniversary of Bouchet's birth. 

This event is free and open to all members of the Yale and New Haven community.  Bring your lunch. Light refreshment will be provided.

For further information: contact Library Human Resources at 432-1810. 

• Edward Bouchet: the First African American Doctorate, edited by Ronald E. Mickens.
• Edward Alexander Bouchet Undergraduate Fellowship Program at Yale
• Fundamentals of Diversity, offered through the Learning Center at Yale
• National Society of Black Physicists
• Physicists of African-American Diaspora
• The Yale Bulletin and Calendar 
  • Tombstone pays belated tribute to first black PhD
  • September 13, 2002 | Volume 31, Number 2
  • September 27, 2002 | Volume 31, Number 4

Edward Alexander Bouchet (1852-1918)

Only a decade after the Civil War, Edward Bouchet, became the first African-American graduate of Yale College. 

Sixth in his class, Bouchet graduated with highest honors. On the basis of his academic record he was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa. 

Bouchet studied at the Yale Graduate School with two of the most prominent physicists of the 19th century--Josiah Willard Gibbs and Arthur Wright. Two years later, Bouchet made history again as the first African-American to earn a PhD. (Yale, "Measuring Refractive Indices," 1876).

Edward Alexander Bouchet was born in New Haven, Connecticut on September 15, 1852.  He attended the New Haven High School (1866-1868) and graduated from Hopkins Grammar School (1870) as valedictorian of his class. 

© 2001 Yale University Library
This file last modified 1/14/03
Send comments to Ernest Scrivani
Staff Training & Organization Development Officer
Yale University Library