Mary Jane Patterson

Life & Legacy

Mary Jane Patterson (September 12, 1840 – September 24, 1894) was an American educator born to a previously enslaved mother and a freeborn father. She is notable because she is claimed to be the first African-American woman to receive a B.A degree. In 1862, she completed the four-year 'gentlemen's course' at Oberlin College. She first taught at the Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth. She then went on to teach at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, known today as Dunbar High School, in Washington, D.C. She became its first Black principal. She was a lifelong advocate for Black education, helping to found the Colored Woman's League which later became the National Association of Colored Women. A humanitarian, Patterson also devoted time and money to Black institutions in Washington, D.C.