Otelia Cromwell

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Otelia Cromwell (April 8, 1874 - April 25, 1972) is the first African-American graduate of Smith College, which later began the tradition of canceling afternoon and evening classes in her honor every November as a venue to talk about race and diversity.

Cromwell went on to become an educator, teaching in a public school in Washington D.C. She eventually earned a master's degree from Columbia University in New York City, then went to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut] and received her Ph.D in 1926. In doing, so she was the first African-American woman to receive a Yale degree.

Cromwell went on to became a professor at Miner Teachers College, later heading the literature department. She wrote a variety of books and articles, including a biography of Lucretia Mott. Cromwell retired in 1944.