Mary McLeod Bethune

Educator

July 10, 1875 Mayesville, South Carolina, United States

May 18, 1955 Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

Albertus Bethune (m. 1898–1918)

Mary McLeod Bethune was an American educator, civil rights activist, teacher, humanitarian, and philanthropist, best known for her efforts toward uplifting the African–American community in the USA. She was born in a rice and cotton farm in South Carolina, into a family of former slaves. She was one of the 17 children in the family, and most of her siblings were born as slaves. She was the only one from her family to attend school. Her parents desired freedom and had struggled very hard to buy a little farm of their own. She studied hard to become a missionary in Africa, but she came to know that missionaries were not needed anymore, so she became a teacher in the USA, emphasizing character and practical education for girls. She started a school for African–American girls in Daytona, Florida, which later merged with a private institute with the same aim, becoming the ‘Bethune-Cookman School.’ She became the president of the school in 1923 and thus became the first-ever black woman to become a president of a college in the USA. She actively participated in many events and emerged as a strong black-rights leader. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited her to be part of his ‘Black Cabinet.’ She passed away on May 18, 1955, at the age of 79.