James Hardy Dillard (October 24, 1856 – August 2, 1940), also known as J. H. Dillard, was an educator from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The son of slaveholders, Dillard was educated at

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

and held a variety of teaching positions. In 1891, Dillard was named a professor at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. There, he became increasingly active in advocating for

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

education. He led the Jeanes Fund from 1907 to 1931 and also led the

Slater Fund The John F. Slater Fund for the Education of Freedmen was a financial endowment established in 1882 by John Fox Slater for education of African Americans in the Southern United States. It ceased independent operation in 1937, by which time it had d ...

for seven years. Following the merger of two black colleges in New Orleans in 1930,

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

was founded and was named in his honor.

Personal life

Dillard was born in

Nansemond County, Virginia Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. Fr ...

, on October 24, 1856. His parents, James and Sara Brownrigg (Cross) Dillard, were slave owners. Dillard attended

, then taught as an assistant professor of mathematics there from 1876 to 1877. For the next five years, he was the principal of the Rodman School in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, Virginia. He then spent another five years overseeing

Norfolk Academy Norfolk Academy (NA) is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest private school in Virginia and the eighth oldest school in the United States. In 1966, Norfolk Academy merged with Country ...

, then was accepted as principal of the Mary Institute at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Dillard led the school from 1887 to 1891. Dillard married Mary Harmanson on July 5, 1882; they had six children. After her death, he married Avarene Lippincott Budd, with whom Dillard had four children. Son

Hardy Cross Dillard Hardy Cross Dillard (23 October 1902 – 12 May 1982) was an American jurist who served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 1970 to 1979,Margolick, David 1982, "Hardy Cross Dillard, 79, Dies; Ex-Judge on the World Court.", The Ne ...

served as a judge on the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

from 1970 to 1979. James Hardy Dillard died on August 2, 1940, in his home in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

, Virginia. The James H. Dillard House in New Orleans is today recognized as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Along with the university in New Orleans, J. H. Dillard is the namesake of

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

Dillard High School Dillard High School is a historic public middle and high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school was established in 1907 as Colored School 11 and was later named for black-education advocate James H. Dillard. It is a part of Bro ...

(and its predecessor

Old Dillard High School The Old Dillard High School, also known as the Colored School or Walker Elementary, is a historic school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is located at 1001 Northwest 4th Street. The first school building in Broward Count ...

, which now houses an African-American history museum).

Educational work

Dillard was appointed a professor of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, in 1891; then was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences three years later. As president of the New Orleans Public Library, he promoted the construction of a Carnegie library for black citizens. He left Tulane to become director of the

Negro Rural School Fund The Jeanes Foundation, also known as the Negro Rural School Fund or Jeanes Fund, helped support education and vocational programs for African American in rural communities from 1908 to the 1960s. It was founded by Anna T. Jeanes with help from ...

(Jeanes Fund), following the death of founder

Anna T. Jeanes Anna T. Jeanes (7 April 1822 – 24 September 1907) was an American Quaker philanthropist. She was born in Philadelphia, the city where she gave Spring Garden Institute, a technical school, $5,000,000; $100,000 to the Hicksite Friends; $200, ...

in 1907, leading it until 1931. In 1910, he became director of the

, leading it for seven years. These two philanthropic foundations supported vocational training for blacks and training institutes for black teachers. Dillard was named vice president of the

Phelps Stokes Fund The Phelps Stokes Fund (PS) is a nonprofit fund established in 1911 by the will of New York philanthropist Caroline Phelps Stokes, a member of the Phelps Stokes family. Created as the Trustees of Phelps Stokes Fund, it connects emerging leade ...

in 1925.

was formed in 1930 following the merger of

New Orleans University New Orleans University was a historically black college that operated between 1869 and 1935 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was founded by Freedmen's Aid Society and the Methodist Episcopal Church. It merged with Straight College in ...

and

Straight College Straight University (known as Straight College after 1915) was an American Historically black colleges and universities, historically black college that operated between 1868 and 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After struggling with financial d ...

, two institutions where Dillard was a trustee, and the university was named in his honor. Dillard won the Gold award for Distinguished Achievements in Race Relations of the Harmon Award in 1928,"Two to be honored for aid to Negroes: Rosenwald and Dr. Dillard to Get Harmon Awards on Racial Relations" (January 23, 1928). ''The New York Times'', p. 25. for "his success in increasing county training schools for Negroes from four to more than three hundred, with increased public appropriations from a little more than $3,000 to $1,000,000 annually."Work & Guzman, p. 7.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, James H. 1856 births 1940 deaths Dillard University People from Suffolk, Virginia Educators from New Orleans People from Charlottesville, Virginia Tulane University faculty Washington and Lee University alumni Washington and Lee University faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty