William H. Crogman

William Henry Crogman (May 5, 1841 – October 16, 1931) was a Dutch Caribbean and American pioneering educator and classicist at Clark University of Atlanta in the United States. The William H. Crogman School in Atlanta is named for him. He was the 11th president of Clark College (now known as Clark Atlanta University).

Early life and education William Henry Crogman was born May 5, 1841, in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, an island in the Dutch Caribbean. He was orphaned at the age of 12, and moved to the United States at the age of 14 with a man named B. L. Boomer. He attended schools in Massachusetts and had the chance to travel the world, visiting ports in Asia, Europe, Australia, and South America.

After the American Civil War he entered Pierce Academy in Middleborough, Massachusetts, led by John Whipple Potter Jenks. He finished his study, and in 1870, started teaching at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. After three years of teaching, in 1873, he enrolled at Atlanta University and in 1876 graduated as a part of the first class of the school. He then took a position at Clark University of Atlanta where he became professor of Greek and Latin. He was secretary of the Board of Trustees at Clark for many years.

In 1895, he was a driving force behind the Negro exhibit at the Cotton Exposition in Atlanta

Later life, death, and legacy

Crogman retired in 1921 and was awarded a lifetime pension by the Carnegie Foundation.

He was married in 1878 to a woman named Lavina Mott (or Mavinid Mott). Crogman, William Henry. Talks for the Times. Press of Franklin Printing & Publishing Company, 1896.