James H. Dillard

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the New Orleans educator. For the former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, see Jim Dillard.
James H. Dillard
Dillard, as pictured in his 1932 book Selected writings of James Hardy Dillard
Born
James Hardy Dillard

October 24, 1856
Nansemond County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 2, 1940(1940-08-02) (aged 83)
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation(s)Educator, advocate
Spouse(s)Mary Harmanson (1881–1896, her death)
Avarene Lippincott Budd (1899–1940, his death)[1]
Children10 (6 with Harmanson and 4 with Budd)

James Hardy Dillard (October 24, 1856 – August 2, 1940), also known as J. H. Dillard, was an educator from Virginia. The son of slaveholders, Dillard was educated at Washington and Lee University and held a variety of teaching positions. In 1891, Dillard was named a professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

There, he became increasingly active in advocating for

black education. He led the Jeanes Fund from 1907 to 1931 and also led the Slater Fund for seven years. Following the merger of two black colleges in New Orleans in 1930, Dillard University
was founded and was named in his honor.

Personal life

Dillard's house in New Orleans

Dillard was born in Nansemond County, Virginia, on October 24, 1856.[1] His parents, James and Sara Brownrigg (Cross) Dillard, were slave owners. Dillard attended Washington and Lee University, 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, Virginia. He then spent another five years overseeing Norfolk Academy, then was accepted as principal of the Mary Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, in Missouri. Dillard led the school from 1887 to 1891.[2]

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 served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 1970 to 1979. James Hardy Dillard died on August 2, 1940, in his home in Charlottesville, Virginia.[1][3]

The James H. Dillard House in New Orleans is today recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Along with the university in New Orleans, J. H. Dillard is the namesake of Fort Lauderdale's Dillard High School (and its predecessor Old Dillard High School, which now houses an African-American history museum).

Educational work

Dillard was appointed a professor of

Negro Rural School Fund (Jeanes Fund), following the death of founder Anna T. Jeanes in 1907, leading it until 1931. In 1910, he became director of the Slater Fund, 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 in 1925.[4]

Harmon Award in 1928,[6] 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."[7]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Castelow, Teri L. "Dillard, J. H. (1856–1940)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  2. ^ Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography. Vol. II. Chicago, IL: American Publishers' Association. 1909. p. 274.
  3. JSTOR 2715156
    .
  4. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Dillard University [New Orleans] (1869– )". The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. 10 January 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Work & Guzman, p. 7.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_H._Dillard&oldid=1207892626"