Daniel Barclay Williams

Daniel Barclay Williams (November 22, 1861 – July 27, 1895) was an American educator who worked at the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, making him the first Black teacher of classics in the state.

Early life Daniel Barclay Williams was born on November 22, 1861, to a mother who the African American National Biography says was "apparently" single, in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Richmond Colored High and Normal School in 1877. While there, he was helped by Mary Elizabeth Knowles, the school's principal until 1876, and Ralza Morse Manly, who succeeded her, and earned a gold medal for "excellence in scholarship and conduct". He was a talented swimmer. Three years later he graduated from Worcester Academy. Williams attended Brown University, for a year in 1880. Livingstone College awarded him an honorary MA in 1889, and Shaw University a PhD two years later.

Personal life Williams was married and had one child.

He died on July 27, 1895, while getting an operation in Petersburg, Virginia. James H. Holmes oversaw his funeral. His papers are held in the Johnston Memorial Library of Virginia State University.