Booker T. Washington Biography

Early Life

Booker T. Washington was born on the 5th of April, 1856 on the Burroughs Farm at Hale's Ford, Virginia, the son of a black slave woman and a white man. Because his mother was a slave, he also automatically became a slave under the laws of the time. The 'T' in his name, therefore, stood for 'Taliaferro' which was the name of his owner.

In 1865, the slaves obtained freedom. Booker, his mother, his brother John and his sister Amanda, moved to Malden in Kanawha County in West Virginia. There they lived with their stepfather whose last name was Washington. He worked with his mother at a coal mine as a salt packer. But then he soon became employed at the house of the owner of the coal mine as a houseboy. Where the other houseboys had failed to satisfy Mrs. Ruffner (General Lewis Ruffner's wife), he pleased her with his diligence and attention to detail at his work. She encouraged him to join school and learn to read and write.

At 16, Booker left Malden and joined the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He worked and paid his way through school. He then attended the Wayland Seminary in Washington DC from 1878 to 1879. He returned to Hampton a teacher.

Life of Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was subsequently recommended by the Hampton officials to becoming the principal of a school in Alabama. The organizers of the Tuskegee normal school in Alabama found what they were looking for in the 25 year old Booker T. Washington and he was then placed as the principal of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. This position was always held by a white person before, and thus Booker T. Washington became the first African-American principal of an educational institution in history.

The school started in 1881 and the next year Booker T. Washington purchased a plantation land and the campus expanded. This later on became the campus of the Tuskegee University.

Booker T. Washington made this University the center of his operations, so to speak. He believed that the African-American community needed to create a situation for themselves in the world by becoming educated and by acquiring the necessary skills to become an important part of the country's workforce. Towards that end the African-American students had to prove themselves to be reliable and responsible citizens and thus ensure that the African-American population gets their civil rights as well.

He had friends among several white people who also donated heavily for the educational programs and schools that he was building all over the country. Chief among them were people like Henry Rogers (the principal of Standard Oil), Julius Rosenwald (president of Sears, Roebuck and Company), Andrew Carnegie and so on.

In 1901, he published his autobiography titled 'Up From Slavery' which became a major bestseller and a beacon for the African-American community all over the country.

The same year, the American President Theodore Roosevelt also invited him to visit the White House as a guest, much to the protest of many white people.

Personal Life of Booker T. Washington

In 1882, he married Fannie N. Smith from Malden, West Virginia. They had one child. She died in 1884.

In 1885 he married Olivia A. Davidson who was a teacher at Tuskegee. They had two sons. She died in 1889.

In 1893 he married Margaret James Murray. They did not have any children. She outlived him and died in 1925.

In his autobiography, Booker T. Washington has credited all his wives for his success. He also praised the enormous amount of work they put in at Tuskegee.

Death of Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington worked hard all his life for propagating the cause of promoting education amongst the African-American people. His health suffered as a consequence. He was one day brought home to Tuskegee when he collapsed in New York City. Thereafter, on the 14th of November 1915, he passed away. He was 52.

At the time of his death, the endowment of the Tuskegee University exceeded $1.5 million and there were countless number of schools opened all across America for spreading education amongst his people.

The Booker T. Washington biography is an example of dedication and hard work.

To put in the great man's own words:

'Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.'