Rose Browne

Rose Butler Browne (March 19, 1897 – December 1, 1986) was an American educator, engineer and author of Love My Children. In 1939 she became the first black woman to gain a PhD in education from Harvard University.

Life Rose Butler Browne was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 19, 1897, the daughter of John R. Butler, a brickmason and Hannah F. McClenney, who worked at a laundry. She went on to earn her master's degree at Rhode Island College of Education (now Rhode Island College) and then to Harvard University where, in 1939 she became the first black woman to earn a doctoral degree in education. In 1950, she received an honorary degree from Rhode Island College. Browne was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Dr. Browne taught for many years at Virginia State University and North Carolina College. She was devoted to improving education for minority children. Dr. Browne served on the facilities of Virginia State College, West Virginia State College, and Bluefield State College in West Virginia before becoming chairman of the education department at North Carolina College. A crusader for black rights, Dr. Browne once refused to send students into teaching jobs in West Virginia as long as State Board of Education continued paying black teachers lower salaries than white teachers. The publicity and subsequent shortage of teachers forced the board to alter its policies.

Works Browne, Rose Butler. Love My Children: an Autobiography. New York: Meredith Press, 1969.