Joan Imogen Howard (7 November 1848,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

– 8 November 1937,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) was an American educator and principal from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Characterized as a "black liberal integrationist", she was the first African American graduate of Girls High and Normal School in

, as well as the only African American to serve on a state board for the

Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ce ...

Early years and education

Joan Imogen Howard, was born in Boston in 1848, though both 1850 and 1851 have also been mentioned. Her father, Edwin Frederick Howard, was a well-known citizen of that city, and her mother, Joan Louise Turpin Howard, was a native of New York. She had one sister, Adeline Turpin Howard, the principal of the Wormley School,

Washington, D. C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and one brother, Edwin C. J. T. Howard, M. D., the first African American graduate of

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

, and a prominent physician in

. She was a cousin of the well-known elocutionist, Ednorah Nahar. She graduated from the Wells Grammar School, Blossom Street, Boston, as one of ten honor pupils who received silver medals. Her parents encouraged her to pursue a higher course of instruction, and consequently, after a successful entrance examination, she became a student of the Girls' High and Normal School, as it was then called. She was the first African American women to enter, and after a three years' course, to graduate from this, which was, at that time, the highest institution of learning in Boston.

Career

A situation as an assistant teacher in Colored Grammar School No. 4, later Grammar School No. 81, was immediately offered. For several years an evening school, which was largely attended and of which she was principal, was carried on in the same building. Later, she took a course in “Methods of Instruction” at the Saturday sessions of the Normal College of New York City, receiving a Master of Arts diploma from this institution (1877). In 1892, she received the degree of Master of Pedagogy at the University of the City of New York. She held a special position on the Board of Women Managers of the

State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

for the Columbian Exposition, one of five of the Committee on Education. She was first Superintendent and a member of the board of directors of Mercy Hospital in Philadelphia. In addition, she presided over the J. Imogen Howard Club of Mercy Hospital. J. Imogen Howard Club of Mercy Hospital Photograph, circa 1925-1930. Image: 20.4 cm x 25.3 cm. From the DeGrasse-Howard photographs. Photo. 36.1.
Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved April 19, 2025.

References

Attribution

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Joan Imogen 1848 births 1937 deaths Educators from Boston 19th-century American educators Educators from Massachusetts African-American women educators 19th-century American women educators 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century African-American women 19th-century African-American educators