W. J. Simmons

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Dr. William J. Simmons (June 29, 1849 – October 30, 1890) was an ex-slave who became Simmons College of Kentucky's second president (1880-1890) and for whom the school eventually was named. Simmons greatly developed Howard University's teacher training programs when he took over the school. In addition, he was a writer, journalist, and educator. In 1886 he became president of the American National Baptist Convention, one of the organizations that would merge to form the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.^[1]. He was elected president of the Colored Press Association for his work as editor of the American Baprtist, a newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky. He died on October 30, 1890 in Louisville, Kentucky.

He was born a slave in Charleston, South Carolina on June 29, 1849. He and his mother fled slavery for the north, finding refuge in Bordertown, New Jersey. From 1862 to 1864 he served as an apprentice to a dentist. He served in the Union Army briefly, and returned to dentistry after the war. In 1867, he joined a Baptist church in Bordertown. The congregation helped him through college. He attended Madison University, Rochester University, and Howard University, from which he graduated in 1873. He worked briefly in Washington D.C. at Hillside School.

The following year, he and his new bride moved to Ocala, Florida where he became principal of Howard Academy and served as the pastor of a church. He served there until 1879. He was ordained that year and moved to Lexington, Kentucky where he pastored the First Baptist Church. The following year, he became president of the Normal and Theological Institute, which he nurtured for a decade. This grew into Simmons College of Kentucky. Simmons published Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising in 1887 while serving as the school's president.