About Rufus B. Atwood
Lived 1897 – 1963 (aged 65–66). Rufus B. Atwood was a pedagogue.
Rufus Ballad Atwood (18971983) was an American educator, academic administrator, and university president. He was the sixth and longest-serving president of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Early life Rufus Ballad Atwood was born in 1897, in Hickman, Kentucky. He attended Fisk Academy and Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in biology after interrupting his studies to serve a volunteer enlistment in the United States Army during World War I, where he received a Bronze Star Award. Atwood also received a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1923 and his master's degree from University of Chicago. and in 1962 he was awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Citizen Medallion. Kentucky State University's Atwood Institute for Race, Education, and the Democratic Ideal is named for him.
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Important facts
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Rufus B. Atwood?
(born 1897)
When was Rufus B. Atwood born?
Rufus B. Atwood was born on 15 March 1897 in Hickman.
When did Rufus B. Atwood die?
Rufus B. Atwood died in 1963 in Frankfort, Kentucky.
What was Rufus B. Atwood's occupation?
Rufus B. Atwood was a pedagogue.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rufus B. Atwood. https://biography.guide/rufus-b-atwood/
MLA: "Rufus B. Atwood." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rufus-b-atwood/.
Chicago: "Rufus B. Atwood." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rufus-b-atwood/.
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