Hiram Rhodes Revels
| Hiram Revels | |
|---|---|
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United States Senator from Mississippi |
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In office February 23, 1870 – March 4, 1871 |
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| Preceded by | Albert G. Brown |
| Succeeded by | James L. Alcorn |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 27, 1827 Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 1901 (aged 73) Aberdeen, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Phoebe Bass |
| Education |
Beech Grove Quaker Seminary Darke County Seminary Knox College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
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| Service/branch |
 Union Army
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| Years of service | 1863–1865 |
| Unit | Chaplain Corps |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Hiram Rhodes Revels (September 27, 1827 – January 16, 1901) was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), a Republican politician, and college administrator. Born free in North Carolina, he later lived and worked in Ohio, where he voted before the Civil War. He became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress when he was elected to the United States Senate to represent Mississippi in 1870 and 1871 during the Reconstruction era.
During the American Civil War, Revels had helped organize two regiments of the United States Colored Troops and served as a chaplain. After serving in the Senate, Revels was appointed as the first president of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alcorn State University), 1871–1873 and 1876 to 1882. Later he served again as a minister.
Revels was born free in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to free people of color, parents of African and European ancestry. He was tutored by a local black woman for his early education. In 1838 he went to live with his older brother, Elias B. Revels, in Lincolnton, North Carolina, and was apprenticed as a barber in his brother's shop. After Elias Revels died in 1841, his widow Mary transferred the shop to Hiram before she remarried. Revels attended the Union County Quaker Seminary in Indiana, and Darke County Seminary in Ohio. He was a second cousin to Lewis Sheridan Leary, one of the men who was killed taking part in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry and to North Carolina lawyer and politician John S. Leary.
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