Frederick Douglass Patterson

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. In 1988, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.

Frederick Douglass Patterson was born on October 10, 1901 in Washington, D.C. to Mamie Lucille and William Ross Patterson. He was named after the great abolitionist and D.C. resident Frederick Douglass. Patterson was orphaned by the age of 2 when both of his parents died from tuberculosis. He then moved in with his sister Bessie, his primary caregiver, who sacrificed to ensure him a good education. She dedicated nearly half her $20 monthly salary to enroll him in the private elementary school of Samuel Huston College (currently Huston-Tillotson College) where his affinity for education quickly shined through. In later years he studied in the Agriculture Department at the Prairie View Normal and Industrial Institute (now Prairie View A&M University) in Texas. Later, he enrolled at Iowa State College (now University) College of Veterinary Medicine, where he graduated in 1923. Thelma Dale Perkins, born in 1915, was a niece of his.

By the age of 31, Patterson had attained three educational degrees: a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Science from Iowa State, and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Cornell University. His journey to academic accomplishment was not without its roadblocks. He was the only African American working at the Iowa State College veterinary clinic, where he learned important personal lessons about race and society.

In his autobiography, reflecting on the experience, he writes, “I learned a lesson with regard to race that I never forgot: how people feel about you reflects the way you permit yourself to be treated. If you permit yourself to be treated differently, you are condemned to an unequal relationship.” The same year Patterson received his Doctorate from Iowa State College in 1923, Jack Trice, the College's first African American student athlete, died from injuries sustained in a football game.

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