Blacks@Dartmouth 1775 to 1960

Perhaps the most interesting case of an African who made a successful career in America is George Waltham Bell. Although he was born in Ethiopia, Bell’s family was exiled to the British island of Malta because of his father’s opposition to Ethiopian King Tewodros II (Theodore II). When his father John Bell was killed in another coup attempt against [Emperor] Menelik in 1859, the young son was left destitute. Eventually George joined the British navy, but resigned some years later while his ship was docked in the United States.

Somehow, in 1879 he entered Lincoln University. After his graduation in 1883, he went on to medical school in St. Louis, and eventually became a prominent doctor in Arkansas. In a notable career, Bell was elected as a state senator in Arkansas (1890-1894), led a legal defense against segregation, founded a county medical association, authored a medical text on consumption, and established the Arkansas Colored Infirmary.