William Frank Powell

William Frank Powell (June 26, 1848 January 23, 1920) was an American diplomat and educator. Powell was the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti from 1897 to 1905. At the same time Powell served as the chargé d'affaires in the Dominican Republic until 1904.

Life and career William Frank Powell was born in Troy, New York. He attended the New York School of Pharmacy, Lincoln University, and the New Jersey Collegiate School.

In 1869, Powell moved to Virginia and worked as a principal in an African American school in Leesburg. to Haiti by President William McKinley in 1897. When he was appointed, many New York businessmen who did business in Haiti took issue. They did so on the platform that the successive appointment of Black men to the position tarnished the reputation of the position and would hurt American business. In reality, one of Powell's main goals was to promote American business interests.

After the end of Powell's term, he returned to Camden and became a writer for the Philadelphia Tribune, an African American newspaper. In 1907 he was awarded an honorary LL.D. from Lincoln University. He died January 23, 1920. The William F. Powell Elementary School was named in his honor but was razed in 2010.