Frederick Douglass Patterson (October 10, 1901 – April 26, 1988), born in Washington D.C. and orphaned at the age of two. Patterson would later become president of what is now Tuskegee University (1935–1953) and founder of the United Negro College Fund (1944, UNCF). In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded Dr. Patterson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Patterson received his DVM in 1923 and M.S. in 1927 from Iowa State University, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1933.
Patterson is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.