Marion Thompson Wright

Marion Thompson Wright (September 12, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an African-American scholar and activist. In 1940, Wright became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn her Ph.D. in history.

Early life Marion Manola Thompson Wright was born in East Orange, New Jersey, on September 12, 1902, to Minnie Thompson and Moses R. Thompson. Wright was the youngest of four children, and had two older twin sisters and a brother who died at a young age.

Few details are available on Thompson's youth, but she attended Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey. Even as a teenager, she expressed her frustrations with the New Jersey school system as one of two Black students at her high school.

Personal life At the age of 16, Wright married William Moss and had two children, Thelma and James. In the 1950s, she worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Death and legacy At the age of 60, Wright's body was found unresponsive inside her car in her garage. Her death certificate states that she died of cardiopulmonary failure; The event is a part of the celebration of Black History Month and in February 2018, Rutgers celebrated their 38th annual lecture series.