Julius Hobson

Julius Hobson
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia, At-Large
In office January 2, 1975 – March 23, 1977
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Hilda Mason
Member of the District of Columbia Board of Education, At-Large
In office 1968–1969
Succeeded by	Bardyl Tirana
Personal details
Born	Julius Wilson Hobson 1922 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Died	March 24, 1977 (aged 54) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	D.C. Statehood Party
Spouse(s)	Carol Smith (divorced); Tina Hobson
Children	Julius Hobson, Jr., Jean Hobson, and two stepsons
Residence	Southwest, Washington, D.C.
Alma mater	Tuskagee Institute, Howard University
Occupation	Economist, professor, activist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Served during	World War II
Awarded	3 Bronze Star Medals

Julius Wilson Hobson (1922 – March 23, 1977) was an activist and politician who served on the Council of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Board of Education.

Hobson was a native of Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Irma (Gordon) and Julius Hobson. His mother was a schoolteacher and later a principal. His father died when he was a very young child. His mother remarried a man who had a dry-cleaning plant and a drugstore.

As a child, Hobson worked at a public library, where he could clean the floors but he was not allowed to borrow books. He read a lot of books about abolitionist John Brown, who he said was the greatest and most under-appreciated American in history. He graduated from Industrial High School, which was the only public high school in Birmingham that allowed black children to attend.

While attending Tuskegee Institute, he was called away from his studies due to World War II. During the war, he served in the United States Army in Europe. He was awarded three bronze stars for his many piloting missions.

After returning from the war, Hobson graduated from Tuskegee Institute. After graduation, he moved to Harlem and attended Columbia University. He did not learn well from the lecture-style classes, and he left after a few months. In 1946, he moved to Washington, D.C. to attend graduate school in economics at Howard University. He particularly loved the visiting professors and the small classroom sizes at Howard.

For his first job after graduation, he worked as a researcher for the Library of Congress. He wrote papers on economic theory for Congress. After about six years, he changed jobs and worked at the Social Security Administration.

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