First Black LAW Graduate

February 28th, 1877 in Commencement, Firsts, Learning

Emanuel Hewlett is the first black Boston University School of Law graduate and one of the first black degree recipients of a major US law school. Upon his death in 1929, the Supreme Court adjourns for the day, an honor reserved for the most respected members of the bar.

Photo courtesy of “Crisis.” New York, N.Y. Crisis Publication Company. Volume 36, Page 416. [1929]

MED Class Milestone

February 27th, 1873 in Commencement

The first class of the School of Medicine includes students from Massachusetts, Kansas, California, South India, and Asia Minor.

First School Named

February 27th, 1871 in Commencement

The Boston Theological Seminary is renamed the School of Theology, the University's first school.