The following is excerpted from an article written by an “Alumnus of ’29”—the author’s name is not given—and published in the February 1882 issue of Pennsylvania Western, a publication of the Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP), as the University of Pittsburgh was known from 1819 to 1908.

Based on the article’s title, “Fifty-five Years Ago,” the events it describes took place during the mid-to-late 1820s. It is impossible to confirm whether the unnamed student “of partially African descent” described in the article was the first African American to attend Pitt, but no earlier candidate has been identified by University archivists or historians.

“A young man of partially African descent came to enter the University. It was said that his father was wealthy, and furnished him the means to obtain an education. Such was the strength of prejudice at that time against those who were of African descent that it was not thought advisable to admit him without the consent of the students. He was opposed by the majority.

“Both the [University’s] professors were above this prejudice. Dr. Bruce [Robert Bruce, then-principal of WUP] gave him lessons in the classics privately. He desired, however, to attend the Doctor’s lectures on moral philosophy. This was objected to, but the Doctor carried his point by a little finesse, in a way creditable to both his head and heart.

“There was but one arm-chair in the hall besides the one occupied by the professor. There was often a race and sometimes a scuffle among the students for this chair. On the day that the lectures were to begin the chair was set in the entry, outside the door, facing the professor, and the student in question was instructed beforehand to be seated in it in due time. A look of dissatisfaction by some of the class and of enjoyment by others showed the success of the Doctor’s plan to accomplish his object. No one enjoyed the scene more than he did. It should be said, to the credit of all concerned, that before the session closed, such was the good conduct of the young man, the prejudice against him had nearly disappeared.”