Historical Name changes of Tuskegee Institute
1881-1887 – Tuskegee State Normal School
1887-1891 – Tuskegee Normal School
1891 -1937 – Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (Incorporated 1893)
1937– Tuskegee Institute
1985- Tuskegee University
Historical Names, Dates, Events about Tuskegee Institute
Lewis Adams – October 27, 1842 – April 30, 1905
George Washington Campbell – 1828 – Died May 5, 1905
Samuel Chapmen Armstrong – January 30, 1839 – May 11, 1893
Founder and First Principal of Hampton Institute, 1868-1893
Presidents
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915)
Founder and First Principal, July 4, 1881 -1915
Died at age of 59
Robert Russa Moton (August 26, 1867 – May 31, 1940)
Second President, 1916 – 1935
President – Emeritus, 1935-1940
Died at the age of 73
Frederick Douglass Patterson (1901 –1988)
Third President, 1936-1953
President -Emeritus, 1953-1988
Luther Hilton Foster (1913-1994)
Fourth President, 1953-1981
Benjamin Franklin Payton (1932- )
Fifth President, 1981-2010
Spoke at the Lincoln Memorial
Robert R. Moton
Benjamin F. Payton
First Ladies
Fanny Norton Smith Washington (May 4, 1858-May 4, 1884)
Olivia Davidson Washington (June 11, 1854- May 9, 1889 (First Co-Principal)
Margaret Murray Washington (June 1, 1861-June 4, 1925)
George Washington Carver (July 12, 1864 – January 5, 1943)
Died at the age of 79
THE TUSKEGEE SONG
Lyrics by Paul Lawrence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906)
Music by N. Clark Smith, (July 31, 1877 – October 8, 1935)
Band Director at Tuskegee Institute, 1900 – 1094: 1907 – 1913
The Tuskegee Song was first sung at the May 1902 Commencement
Mr. Dunbar received a check of $25.00 from Dr. Washington for the lyrics.
Alumni Bowl
Dedicated on October 17, 1925 and the first Official Homecoming
Constructed, at a cost of $50,000.
Tuskegee Institute vs. Atlanta University: Tuskegee Won, 22 – 0
The Tuskegee Alumni Association was formed on May 12, 1887. Mr. B.T. Harvey, Sr. was the first
president. Organized into a national body in 1914.
The Tuskegee Colors – Crimson and Old Gold were adopted at the meeting of the Tuskegee Institute
Executive Council, April 3, 1902
The first Movable School and Bookmobile established at Tuskegee Institute, June 1906
The First Farmers Conference Organized at Tuskegee Institute, February 1892.
The first Tuskegee Institute students and teachers sent to Africa, January 1, 1900 to introduce cotton
raising.
The first Agricultural Experiment Station at a black school was established at Tuskegee Institute,
September 1896.
Tuskegee Institute gave land, and secured for the community, a U.S. Veterans Hospital in 1923.
The third President of Tuskegee Institute organized the United Negro College Fund.
Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver were the first blacks to be honored by the U.S.
Government with commemorative half-dollar coins and postage stamps.
Booker T. Washington (first) and George Washington Carver are the only blacks inducted into the Hall of
Fame for Great Americans, having been elected, October 31, 1945 and November 13, 1973, respectively.
Tuskegee Institute was the first black college to be designated as a registered National Historic
Landmark (April 2, 1966), and the first black college to be designated a National Historical Site (October
26, 1974)
Tuskegee Institute was the first black college to receive an Agency for International Development
contract to assist the countries of Indonesia and Liberia.
The first Negro Year Book was published at Tuskegee Institute under the supervision of Monroe Nathan
Work in 1912.
The first “Miss Tuskegee Institute” (1926-27) was Dorothy D. Gordon of Magnolia, Mississippi.
The first African Students arrived at Tuskegee Institute, January 1, 1906.
Tuskegee Institute can boast of having the first and only Foundation (The Carver Foundation) created by
a black scientist (George Washington Carver) for the training of other young scientist. With $32,000
from his life’s savings, this Foundation came into being on February 13, 1940.
The student body voted 321 to 17 on March 17, 1947 in favor of bringing fraternities and sororities to
Tuskegee Institute.
There were ten persons in the first graduating call at Tuskegee Institute, May 28, 1885
The Speaker: Prof. Joseph Charles Price (1854-1893), Founder of Livingstone College, Salisbury,
N.C.
The oldest building on Tuskegee Institute’s campus is the Band Cottage (formerly the Foundry and Forge
Shop), built in 1889.
Historic Structures of the Tuskegee Institute campus with dates of completion:
Administration Building (1902)
Band Cottage (1889) formerly Foundry and Forge Shop
Carnegie Hall (1900) formerly Carnegie Library
Carver Museum (1915) formerly Old Laudry
Dorothy Hall (1899)
Farm Mechanization Building (1919) formerly Old Horse Barn
Huntington Memorial (Academic) Building (1902)
Milbank Agricultural Building (1910)
R.O.T.C. Armory (1904) formerly Old Boys’ Bath House
The Oak (1899)
Thrasher Hall (1893) formerly Old Classroom – Dormitory Building
Tompkins Hall (1910)
White Hall (1910)
All Built by Tuskegee Institute Students
All Bricks Made by Tuskegee Institute Students
Tuskegee Institute was one of ten schools at the founding of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SIAC) on December 30, 1913, Atlanta, Ga.
The Tuskegee Institute Golden Tiger Football Teams were SIAC Champions for the years: 1917, 1923,
1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1967, 1968, and 1974.
The Tuskegee Institute Golden Tigers Basketball Teams were SIAC Basketball Tournament Champions for
the years: 1934, 1944, 1948, and Conference Champions for the years:
The first annual Tuskegee Institute Parents’ Day Observance was held on April 4, 1964 (Mrs. Zelda
Belton, Coordinator)
Presidents of the United States who have visited Tuskegee Institute
William McKinley (1898)
Theodore Roosevelt (October 24, 1905)
*Calvin Coolidge (February 12, 1923)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (March 30, 1939)
Ronald Regan (1987)
George W. Bush (April 19, 2006)
*As Vice President to dedicated the U.S. Veterans Hospital (#91)
Veterinary Medicine
Set-up as a regional institution, instruction in Veterinary Medicine began in 1945, with funds supplied
jointly by the General Education Board and the State of Alabama. Its first unit of building was completed
in 1948. Its first class of four was graduated on May 16, 1949. In 1950, the school’s graduating class of
fourteen represented the largest group of black men on American history ever to receive the degree,
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
The First Tuskegee Chapel
Groundbreaking Ceremonies: March 20, 1896
Completed and Dedicated: 1898
Stained Glass Windows Installed: 1932
Destroyed by fire: January 23, 1957
The Second Tuskegee Chapel
Groundbreaking Ceremonies: March 18, 1967
First Chapel Service Held: June 1, 1969
Cost 2 million dollars
Bricks used: 850,000
The years 1939-1945 were national defense and war years. Here are some highlights related to
Tuskegee Institute:
1939, October 13
1941, January 16
Tuskegee Institute began a Civilian Pilot Training Program
the 99th Pursuit Squadron of the United States Army Air Corps was authorized
1941, July 19
1941, August 25
1942, March 7
1943, April 1
Dedication of the Tuskegee Army Air Field Pre-flight training for the Squadron
began
Flying training began
the first class of Army pilots was graduated
Dedication of Moton Field
Other military programs: 320th College Training Detachment and the 2211th Army Air Forces Base Unit
(College Training Air Crew)
992 black pilots were trained at the Tuskegee Institute Army Air Field
In 1958 the Choir received invitations to participate in the Brussels World’s Fair and the Twenty-Fifth
Anniversary Celebration of Radio City Music Hall. The latter was accepted, and members of the Choir
performed May 29 – June 25, 1958. (Relford Patterson, Director)
The Tuskegee Institute Choir performed at the White House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony as guest
of President John F. Kennedy on December 17, 1962. (Relford Patterson, Director)
In April 1972, “The Golden Voices” became the first black choir to perform in Lincoln Center, New York
City. (Roy E. Hicks, Director)
In 1973, The Tuskegee Institute Choir was invited by the Strategic Air Command to render concerts at Air
Force Bases in Maine, Michigan, Montana and North Dakota. A First among Colleges and Universities.
(Roy E. Hicks, Director)
Facts about the Tuskegee Institute Choir
The Tuskegee Institute Choir is one of the country’s leading college and university musical organizations.
It was invited to sing for thirty-six days at the dedication of the Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center,
opening on December 27, 1932. (William L. Dawson, Director)
In April 1952, the choral group appeared on television on the Kate Smith and Ed Sullivan Shows, New
York City (Dawson)
The Tuskegee Institute Choir Album, released in 1954 by Westminster Recording Company, was included
in the “Best Selling Long Playing Records of the Decade” as listed in the March 26, 1958 issue of the New
York Times.
In 1958 the Choir received invitations to participate in the Brussels World’s Fair and the Twenty-fifth
Anniversary Celebration of Radio City Music Hall. The latter was accepted, and members of the Choir
performed May 29 – June 25, 1958. (Relford Patterson, Director)
The Tuskegee Institute Choir performed at the White House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony as guests
of President John F. Kennedy on December 17, 1962. (Relford Patterson, Director)
In April 1972, “The Golden Voices” became the first black choir to perform in Lincoln Center, New York
City. (Roy E. Hicks, Director)
First Founder’s Day, 1917
1927 Colored Advisory Commission to American National Red Cross (Mississippi Flood Disaster)
Appointed Dr. Moton as Chairman.
Tuskegee men’s track team participated in the Penn and Drake Relays. Mozel Ellerbe, a TI Student, was
the first man from an African American School to win a flat race in a national meet, 1938.
Mildred McDaniel (Campus and World Champion) set the high jump record in the Olympic Track and
Field Competition at Melbourne, Australia. 1956
The first All-Institute Conference was held, 1941
1948-Tuskegee sent to students to the Olympics and Alice Coachman, won the high jump.
1948- The Alabama Legislature appropriated $25,000 to start the School of Engineering.
Tuskegee accepted to full membership in the Southern Association of College and Secondary Schools,
1958
1963, Two alumni of Tuskegee School of Nursing were the first blacks admitted to graduate study
program at Emory University.
First annual Parents’ Day Observed, April 4, 1964
1893, Institute received a gold medal for its educational exhibit at the Atlanta Exposition, where Dr.
Washington rose to national fame and gained popular acclaim by his speech on “Let down your bucket
where you are.”
Booker T. Washington established the National Negro Business League, 1900