Joseph Jenkins Roberts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph Jenkins Roberts
1st President of Liberia (1848) 7th President of Liberia (1872)
In office January 3, 1848 – January 7, 1856 January 1, 1872 – January 3, 1876
Vice President(s)	Stephen Allen Benson (1848) Anthony W. Gardiner (1872)
Preceded by	None (1848) James Skivring Smith (1872)
Succeeded by	Stephen Allen Benson (1848) James Spriggs-Payne (1872)
Born	March 15, 1809 Norfolk, Virginia
Political party	Republican Party

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was the first President of Liberia (1848–1856, 1872–1876).

Roberts was born a free man, of mixed African and European ancestry, and was raised in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. He attended the Norfolk Academy and Maury High School. He moved to Petersburg, Virginia, where he worked in his family's boating business. In 1829, his family moved to Liberia and established a trading store in Monrovia. In 1839, Roberts became Liberia's lieutenant governor and afterwards, its governor (1841–1848). He is known as the father of Liberia and helped Liberia win its independence in 1847, and he became the first president of Liberia.

Roberts initially left office in 1856. However in 1871, President Edward J. Roye was deposed in a coup d'état by elements loyal to the Republican Party on the grounds that he was planning to cancel the upcoming elections. Roberts, one of the Republican Party's leaders, won the ensuing presidential election and thus returned to office. He served until 1876, although he was incapacitated by illness from 1875 until his death the following year.

Liberia's main airport, Roberts International Airport, is named in honor of Joseph Roberts.

[edit] Reference

• Virginia's Ninth President, Joseph Jenkins Roberts by C. W. Tazwell

[edit] External link

• Liberia Past and Present: J. J. Roberts

Preceded by (none)	President of Liberia 1847–1856	Succeeded by Stephen Allen Benson
Preceded by James Skivring Smith	President of Liberia 1872–1876	Succeeded by James Spriggs Payne

Presidents of Liberia

Joseph J. Roberts • Stephen Allen Benson • Daniel Bashiel Warner • James Spriggs Payne • Edward J. Roye • James Skivring Smith • Joseph J. Roberts • James Spriggs Payne • Anthony W. Gardiner • Alfred Francis Russell • Hilary R. W. Johnson • Joseph James Cheeseman • William D. Coleman • Garretson W. Gibson • Arthur Barclay • Daniel Edward Howard • Charles D.B. King • Edwin Barclay • William Tubman • William R. Tolbert, Jr. • Samuel Doe • Amos Sawyer† • David D. Kpormakpor† • Wilton G. S. Sankawulo† • Ruth Perry† • Charles G. Taylor • Moses Blah • Gyude Bryant† • Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf  † denotes non-presidential head of state

Persondata
NAME	Roberts, Joseph Jenkins
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Roberts, Joseph J.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	President of Liberia
DATE OF BIRTH	15 March 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH	Norfolk, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH	24 February 1876
PLACE OF DEATH	Monrovia, Liberia