Edward Bouchet

Born on 15 September 1852 in New Haven, Connecticut, Edward Bouchet was the first African American to earn a PhD in physics in the US. The son of a former slave, Bouchet attended segregated schools before gaining admittance to the prestigious Hopkins Grammar School. He graduated valedictorian of his class in 1870 and entered Yale College (now Yale University), where he became the first black person nominated to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his PhD in 1876. Bouchet’s doctoral thesis centered on measuring the refractive indices of various glasses. Unable to find employment as a college professor because of his race, Bouchet accepted a position at Philadelphia’s Institute for Colored Youth, where he worked for the next 26 years. While there, he taught not only physics but also astronomy, chemistry, entomology, geography, and physiology. When the school shifted its focus from academic to vocational subjects in 1902, Bouchet lost his job and ended up an itinerant teacher, working at schools in Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and Texas, until his health declined and he returned to New Haven. He died in 1918 at age 66. In his honor, Yale established both the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society and the Bouchet Leadership Award.

Date in History: 15 September 1852