Henry Arthur Callis (January 14, 1887 – November 12, 1974) was a physician and one of the seven founders (''commonly referred to as The Seven Jewels'') of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1906. Callis co-authored the fraternity name with George Kelley and became the only Jewel to become general president of the fraternity (1915). Callis assisted in the organization of several chapters, including Xi Lambda Chapter (1924) in Chicago and Alpha Nu Lambda (1928) in Tuskegee, AL.

Biography

Callis was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and attended

and Rush Medical College. He became a physician and worked as a medical consultant at the Veterans' Hospital in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...

. He was professor of medicine at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and a frequent contributor to medical journals. The Eta Tau Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha created Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Inc. to address housing for low-income families, individuals and senior citizens in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. In 1971, Alpha Homes received an $11.5 million grant from HUD to begin groundbreaking on Channelwood Village with the Henry Arthur Callis Tower as its centerpiece. Callis died on November 12, 1974, in Washington, D.C. His death was a milestone for the fraternity as Callis became the last Jewel to enter its Omega Chapter—distinguished to contain the names of deceased fraternity members, and the Alpha Phi Alpha entered a period when it had no living "Jewels". ''The Callis Papers'' - personal and family papers of Henry Callis including awards, certificates, clippings, correspondence, a diary, notebooks, photographs, programs and scrapbooks relating to Callis and his family - were donated to Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

Personal life

Callis was the second husband of poet Alice Dunbar; their marriage ended in divorce. His third wife was social worker, employment specialist Myra Colson Callis; they married in 1927, and she survived him. He had two daughters, Jane and Helen.

References

External links

Alpha Phi Alpha website

Alpha Phi Alpha Homes

Xi Lambda Alumni Chapter, Chicago, Illinois
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callis, Henry A. 1887 births 1974 deaths Alpha Phi Alpha founders Alpha Phi Alpha presidents Cornell University alumni Physicians from Alabama Rush Medical College alumni Physicians from Rochester, New York

Biography

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links