Edward Christopher Williams

Edward Christopher Williams was the first AfricanAmerican professional librarian in the United States. His sudden death in 1929 ended his career the year he was expected to receive the first Ph.D. in librarianship. Williams was born on February 11, 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio, to an AfricanAmerican father and an Irish mother. Upon his graduation with distinction from Adelbert College of Western Reserve University in 1892, he was appointed Assistant Librarian of Hatch Library at WRU. Two years later, he was promoted to librarian of Hatch Library until 1909, when he resigned to assume the responsibility of the Principal of M Street High School in Washington, D.C. He continued his career as University Librarian of Howard University until his death on December 24, 1929. Williams was rediscovered as a Harlem Renaissance author with the 2004 publication of his novel When Washington Was in Vogue, the first epistolary novel by an AfricanAmerican. In 1999, American Libraries named him one of the

Edward Williams was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only son of Daniel P. Williams, a respected personality in Cleveland, and Mary Kilkary Williams, who was of Irish origin. Edward received his education in the public schools of Cleveland, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelbert College of Western Reserve University in 1892. As a distinguished student, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.

Source: Wikipedia