Booker T. Washington, Influential African-American Leader Dies

Tuskegee University Founder and Advocate for Education Succumbs to Illness

Tuskegee, Alabama - December 14, 1915 - Booker Taliaferro Washington, the renowned educator, author, and orator, passed away yesterday at the age of 59. Washington, born into slavery in 1856, rose to become one of the most influential African-American intellectuals of the late 19th century. As the first president and principal developer of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), Washington's vision of education and self-reliance helped shape the lives of countless African Americans.