Lincoln University History

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania holds a singular place in American history: it is the nation's first degree-granting Historically Black College or University (HBCU).[1][2] Here's the story.

Founded as Ashmun Institute, 1854

Lincoln received its charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on April 29, 1854, originally established as Ashmun Institute, named after Jehudi Ashmun, a leader connected to the founding of Liberia.[1][2] It was the vision of John Miller Dickey, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson.[1]

The founding spirit was personal. When a freedman named James Amos was denied admission to other schools because of his race, Dickey taught him himself.[3] Lincoln's first African American president, Horace Mann Bond, later described the school as the first institution found anywhere in the world to provide higher education in the arts and sciences for young men of African descent.[1]

Renamed for Lincoln, 1866

On April 4, 1866, just after the Civil War, Ashmun Institute was renamed Lincoln University in honor of President Abraham Lincoln and his role in the emancipation of enslaved Americans.[1][2]

A Legacy of Leaders

In its first hundred years, Lincoln educated roughly twenty percent of the African American physicians and more than ten percent of the African American attorneys in the United States.[4] Its graduates include:

Thurgood Marshall (Class of 1930) — first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice.[2][4]

Langston Hughes (Class of 1929) — celebrated Harlem Renaissance poet.[2][4]

Kwame Nkrumah — first Prime Minister of independent Ghana.[2]

Nnamdi Azikiwe — first President of independent Nigeria.[2]

Lincoln graduates also went on to found other HBCUs across the South, multiplying the school's mission far beyond its own campus.[5]

Lincoln Today

Located on a 422-acre campus in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Lincoln has been a public, state-related institution since 1972.[6] Its teams are the Lions, its colors are Orange and Blue, and its motto endures: “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”[6]

At That Lincoln Life, we carry this history forward — one piece of Orange & Blue at a time.

Lincoln made. Lincoln proud.

Sources:

  1. Lincoln University, “History.” lincoln.edu/about/history
  2. HISTORY.com, “First HBCU, Lincoln University, chartered.” history.com
  3. Pennsylvania Center for the Book, “Freedom at The Lincoln University.” pabook.libraries.psu.edu
    Encyclopedia.com, “Lincoln University.” encyclopedia.com
  4. Sasaki, “Planning the Future of the Past at Lincoln University.” sasaki.com
  5. Wikipedia, “Lincoln University (Pennsylvania).” en.wikipedia.org