Edward Bouchet – There were only 3 elementary schools in his native New Haven that accepted black pupils in the mid-19th century-but that didn’t keep Edward Bouchet from pursuing his education through Yale becoming the 6th American of any race to get a Ph.D. in physics & the 1st African-American to earn a doctoral degree. A physics degree should have guaranteed Bouchet a university position, but segregation closed this door to him. Instead he taught 26 yrs at The Institute of Colored Youth.
