Charles H. Wesley
| Charles H. Wesley |
| Born |
Charles H. Wesley
December 2, 1891(1891-12-02)
Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Died |
August 16, 1987(1987-08-16) (aged 95)
District of Columbia |
| Occupation |
Historian, Author |
| Nationality |
Black American |
| Period |
1925–1987 |
| Genres |
History |
| Notable work(s) |
Prince Hall Life and Legacy |
Charles Harris Wesley (December 2, 1891 – August 16, 1987) was an American historian, educator, writer and author.
Early life and education
Charles Wesley was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the only child of Matilda and Charles Snowden Wesley. He attended local schools as a boy, and went on to graduate from Fisk University in 1911. He subsequently earned a Master's degree from Yale University in 1913, and in 1925, Wesley became the fourth African-American to receive a PhD from Harvard University.[1] He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity in 1928 by Wilberforce University.[2]
Career
Wesley was an ordained minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). After serving as the Dean of the Liberal Arts and the Graduate School at Howard University, in 1942 he was called to serve as President of Wilberforce University (an AME affiliated university) in Wilberforce, Ohio until 1947. It was in that year that he went on to found Central State University across the street from Wilberforce University and where he would serve as president until he moved back to Washington, D.C. in 1965.[2]
In 1965, Wesley became the Director of Research and Publications for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. He was Executive Director from 1965–1972, later becoming Executive Director Emeritus'. In 1976, he became Director of the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia. He was also a life member of the American Historical Association.[2]
Wesley was the 14th and a five-term General President and later National Historian for seven decades of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African Americans. He wrote The History of Alpha Phi Alpha in 1929, and many new editions. Wesley is also an archon of Sigma Pi Phi (the Boule), which is the first of all Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO). He was also a Prince Hall Freemason, a Sovereign Grand Inspector General (33rd Degree) of the United Supreme Council (Southern Jurisdiction, Prince Hall); a member of the Odd Fellows, Elks, and many other fraternal organizations.[2]
Wesley died on August 16, 1987, in Washington, D.C. at 12:35 am, and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Suitland, Maryland.[2]
Awards
He was the recipient of numerous awards, including
Books
African-American history
- Negro Labor in the United States, 1850–1925 (1927)
- Richard Allen, Apostle of Freedom (1935)
- Collapse of the Confederacy (1937)
- The Negro in the Americas (1940)
- Negro Makers of History (5th edition) with Carter G. Woodson (1958)
- The Story of the Negro Retold with Carter G. Woodson (1959)
- The Negro in Our History with Carter G. Woodson(1962)
- Ohio Negroes in the Civil War (1962)
- Neglected History: Essays in Negro History (1965)
- Negro Americans in the Civil War: From Slavery to Citizenship (1967)
- International Library of Negro Life and History, a ten volume set (1967).
- In Freedom's Footsteps: From the African Background to the Civil War (1968)
- The Quest for Equality: From Civil War to Civil Rights (1968)
- Negro Citizenship in the United States: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Negro-American, Its Concepts and Developments, 1868–1968 (1968)
- The Fifteenth Amendment and Black America, 1870–1970 (1970)
- Women Builders with Sadie Iola Daniel and Thelma D. Perry (1970)
Greek-letter fraternity
- The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in Negro College Life (1929)
- The History of Sigma Pi Phi (1954)
- Henry Arthur Callis, Life and Legacy (1977)
Prince Hall Freemasonry
- The History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio (1961 and 1972)
- Prince Hall: A Life and Legacy (1977)
Other professional and fraternal organizations
- History of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, 1898–1954 (1955)
- The History of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs: A Legacy of Service (1984).
References
- ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia & Yukon. "Charles H. Wesley". Accessed August 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Proceedings of the 139th Communication of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio, F&AM, August 8 and 9, 1988, Toledo, Ohio. Columbus, Ohio: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio. 1989. pp. 139–140.
External links
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Moses A. Morrison, 1908–1909 · Roscoe C. Giles, 1910 · Frederick H. Miller, 1911 · Charles H. Garvin, 1912–1913 · Henry L. Dickason, 1914–1915 · Henry A. Callis, 1915 · Howard H. Long, 1916–1917 · William A. Pollard, 1917–1918 · Daniel D. Fowler, 1919 · Lucius L. McGee, 1920 · Simeon S. Booker, 1921–1923 · Raymond W. Cannon, 1924–1927 · Bert A. Rose, 1928–1931 · Charles H. Wesley, 1932–1940 · Rayford W. Logan, 1941–1945 · Belford V. Lawson, Jr., 1946–1951 · Antonio M. Smith, 1952–1954 · Frank L. Stanley, 1955–1957 · Myles A. Paige, 1957–1960 · William H. Hale, 1961–1962 · T. Winston Cole, Sr., 1963–1964 · Lionel H. Newsom, 1965–1968 · Ernest N. Morial, 1968–1972 · Walter Washington, 1973–1976 · James R. Williams, 1977–1980 · Ozell Sutton, 1981–1984 · Charles C. Teamer, 1985–1988 · Henry Ponder, 1989–1992 · Milton C. Davis, 1993–1996 · Adrian L. Wallace, 1997–2000 · Harry E. Johnson, 2001–2004 · Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. 2005–2008 · Herman Mason, Jr. 2009–Present
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Wesley, Charles H. |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth |
December 2, 1891 |
| Place of birth |
Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Date of death |
August 16, 1987 |
| Place of death |
District of Columbia |