Marcellus Neal

Marcellus Neal (1868–1939) was the first African-American graduate of Indiana University in the United States.

Early years Neal was born in 1868 in Lebanon, Tennessee, but the family later moved to Greenfield, Indiana. His wife is listed as Mrs. M. Neal, in the Arbutus, the Indiana University yearbook. However, her name is listed as Caledonia in Frank O. Beck's book on race relations at Indiana University. She was a southern teacher, whose teaching skills were highly regarded.

For ten years after his graduation from IU, Neal did graduate work, held short-term teaching jobs, and traveled, spending time in both Europe and Canada. He also completed a treatise on science and wrote political editorials for African-American newspapers. He died of his injuries on November 6 and was buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery, in Glenwood, Illinois.

The Neal-Marshall Alumni Club was founded in 1981 as a means of meeting the needs of black students, faculty, and staff, while also promoting African-American history at Indiana University. The organization was actually founded in Jackson, Mississippi, while other Indiana chapters soon followed in Gary, and Indianapolis.