52 Notable alumni of Lincoln University
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Lincoln University is ranked #2,998 in the world and #779 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 52 notable alumni from Lincoln University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Lincoln University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Frank Erdman Boston
1891-1960 (aged 69)
physician
military officer
Frank Erdman Boston was an American physician. He served in World War I (as a part of the Medical Reserve Corps) in the 317th Infantry. He served in France with the rank captain and ended his military service as a major. After the war, he worked in Philadelphia and then moved to Lansdale, Pennsylvania, founding an ambulance corps and the...
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2. W. Beverly Carter, Jr
1921-1982 (aged 61)
diplomat
journalist
William Beverly Carter Jr., served three American presidents as U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and Liberia and became the first African American named Ambassador-at-Large.
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3. Ulysses Simpson Wiggins
1896-1966 (aged 70)
Doctor
Ulysses Simpson Wiggins was an American doctor, civil rights activist, president of the Camden County branch of the NAACP, and president of the New Jersey Conference of Branches of the NAACP. Wiggins was a proponent of desegregating Camden's schools during his time as president of the Camden NAACP, and he was a well-respected leader in his community.
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4. Joseph Newman Clinton
1854-1927 (aged 73)
politician
Joseph Newman Clinton was a politician and public official in Florida. An African American, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from Alachua County from 1881 to 1883, was a member of the city council in Gainesville from 1883 to 1885, and was a federal official in Pensacola and Tampa.
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5. Edward S. Porter
1848-1902 (aged 54)
physician
Edward S. Porter was a physician in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a physician for the Louisville city sanitary force, the Orphan's home, at the nearby insane asylum, and at Simmons College of Kentucky.
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6. Harold E. Pierce
1922-2006 (aged 84)
dermatologist
Harold E. Pierce Jr. Brigadier General was an American dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon who practiced principally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for over 48 years. He pioneered surgical techniques for the treatment of keloids, laminar dermal reticulotomy, hair transplants, cosmetic facial surgery, chemical facial peeling, and dermabrasion in people of color. He was called "The Father of Black Cosmetic Surgery."
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7. Darrel Lewis
1976-. (aged 50)
basketball player
Darrel Keith Lewis is an American and Icelandic professional basketball player who last played for Þór Akureyri in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla. He was named the Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the year in 2004 and selected to the Domestic All-First Team in 2015.
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8. J. Everett Prewitt
1942-. (aged 84)
novelist
James Everett Prewitt is an American novelist and former Army officer who served in the Vietnam War.
9. Karsonya Wise Whitehead
university teacher
filmmaker
activist
Karsonya "Kaye" Wise Whitehead is an American educator, author, radio host, speaker, and documentary filmmaker who is known as the #blackmommyactivist. She is the founding director of The Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice, a Professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland, and the host of Today With Kaye on WEAA. Whitehead...
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10. Horace Dawson
1926-. (aged 100)
diplomat
Horace Greeley Dawson, Jr. is an American retired diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Botswana.
11. A. A. Birch, Jr
1932-2011 (aged 79)
lawyer
judge
Adolpho A. Birch Jr. was an American lawyer and judge who was the first African American to serve as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
12. Joseph C. Price
1854-1893 (aged 39)
educator
orator
Joseph Charles Price was a founder and the first president of Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was one of the greatest orators of his day and a leader of African Americans in the southern United States. His death at the age of 39 cut short a career that might otherwise have vied with that of Booker T. Washington.
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13. Edward Wilmot Blyden III
1918-2010 (aged 92)
diplomat
writer
Edward Wilmot Blyden III was a diplomat, political scientist and educator born in Freetown Sierra Leone Protectorate. He distinguished himself as an educator and contributor to post-colonial discourse on African self-government, and Third World non-alignment. He was the grandson of Edward Wilmot Blyden.
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14. Soraya M. Coley
Soraya M. Coley is an American academic and university administrator who served as the sixth president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). With four decades of experience in higher education, Coley is the first woman and first African American scholar to be named president of Cal Poly Pomona.
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15. Julia Evangeline Brooks
1882-1948 (aged 66)
academic
Julia Evangeline Brooks was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority founded by African-American women.
16. Aaron Albert Mossell
1863-1951 (aged 88)
activist
mining engineer
lawyer
Aaron Albert Mossell II was an African-American lawyer who became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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17. Maria Quiñones-Sanchez
1968-. (aged 58)
politician
Maria Quiñones-Sánchez is an American politician and political activist who served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council representing the 7th district. The district includes the neighborhoods of Castor Gardens, Fairhill, Feltonville, Frankford, Harrowgate, Hunting Park, Juniata, Kensington, Oxford Circle and Wissinoming. A registered Democrat, she served in this position from 2008 to 2022.
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18. Roderick L. Ireland
1944-. (aged 82)
lawyer
judge
Roderick L. Ireland served as the 36th Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and was the first African American to serve that position. He was nominated for Chief Justice by Governor Deval Patrick on November 4, 2010, and sworn in on December 20. He retired from service on the court on July 25, 2014.
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19. Hildrus Poindexter
1901-1987 (aged 86)
writer
epidemiologist
Hildrus Augustus "Gus" Poindexter was an American bacteriologist who studied the epidemiology of tropical diseases.
20. Abdulalim Abdullah Shabazz
1927-2014 (aged 87)
mathematician
Abdulalim Abdullah Shabazz was an African American Professor of Mathematics. He received the National Association of Mathematicians Distinguished Service Award for his years of mentoring and teaching excellence. President of the United States Bill Clinton awarded Shabazz a National Mentor award in September 2000.
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21. Robert N.C. Nix, Sr
1898-1987 (aged 89)
lawyer
politician
Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1958 until 1979. He was the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives. The Robert N. C. Nix Federal Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is named in his honor.
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22. Nathan Francis Mossell
1856-1946 (aged 90)
physician
Nathan Francis Mossell was an American physician who was the first African-American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1882. He did post-graduate training at hospitals in Philadelphia and London. In 1888, he was the first black physician elected as member of the Philadelphia County Medical Society in Pennsylvania. He was active in the NAACP and also...
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23. Robert Friend
1920-2019 (aged 99)
aircraft pilot
ufologist
Robert Jones Friend was an American military officer and pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and led the USAF's Project Blue Book from 1958 to 1963. He also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He had a 28-year military career.
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24. Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr
1911-1984 (aged 73)
lobbyist
Clarence Maurice Mitchell Jr. was an American civil rights activist and was the chief lobbyist for the NAACP for nearly 30 years. He also served as a regional director for the organization.
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25. Alexander Darnes
1840-1894 (aged 54)
physician
Alexander Hanson Darnes was the first African-American physician in Jacksonville, Florida, and the second in the state. Born into slavery in St. Augustine, Florida, as a young man he served as a valet to Edmund Kirby Smith, the son of his owner, Judge Joseph Lee Smith. Darnes accompanied Smith to Texas while he served in the United States Army. During...
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26. Cecil Dennis
1931-1980 (aged 49)
diplomat
minister
politician
Charles Cecil Dennis Jr was a Liberian political figure who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President William Tolbert from 1973 until the 1980 Liberian coup d'état led by Samuel Doe. Along with 11 other current and former members of the Liberian government, he was tried by a military tribunal and executed by firing squad ten days after the...
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27. Julian Mayfield
1928-1984 (aged 56)
novelist
actor
theatrical director
Julian Hudson Mayfield was an American actor, director, writer, lecturer and civil rights activist.
28. Philip Banks III
1964-. (aged 62)
police officer
Philip Banks III is the former deputy mayor of New York City for public safety and a retired law enforcement officer who served as NYPD chief of department in 2013 and 2014. As chief of department, Banks oversaw all patrol and specialty units. He resigned in the midst of the investigations into the Eric Adams administration.
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29. Horace Mann Bond
1904-1972 (aged 68)
university teacher
Horace Mann Bond was an American historian, college administrator, social science researcher and the father of civil-rights leader Julian Bond. He earned graduate and doctoral degrees from University of Chicago at a time when only a small percentage of any young adults attended any college. He was an influential leader at several historically black colleges and was appointed the first...
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30. Maria Louisa Bustill
1853-1904 (aged 51)
teacher
Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson was an American Quaker schoolteacher; the wife of the Reverend William Drew Robeson of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey and the mother of Paul Robeson and his siblings.
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31. Thomas E. Miller
1849-1938 (aged 89)
lawyer
politician
Thomas Ezekiel Miller was an American educator, lawyer and politician. After being elected as a state legislator in South Carolina, he was one of only five African Americans elected to Congress from the South in the Jim Crow era of the last decade of the nineteenth century, as disfranchisement reduced black voting. After that, no African Americans were elected from...
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32. Robert L. Carter
1917-2012 (aged 95)
lawyer
judge
journalist
Robert Lee Carter was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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33. Brian Jackson
1952-. (aged 74)
singer-songwriter
jazz musician
Brian Robert Jackson is an American keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer known for his collaborations with Gil Scott-Heron in the 1970s. The sound of Jackson's Rhodes electric piano and flute accompaniments featured prominently in many of their compositions, most notably on "The Bottle" and "Your Daddy Loves You" from their first official collaboration Winter in America.
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34. Archibald Grimké
1849-1930 (aged 81)
diplomat
lawyer
journalist
Archibald Henry Grimké was an African-American lawyer, intellectual, journalist, diplomat and community leader in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He graduated from freedmen's schools, Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and Harvard Law School, and served as American Consul to the Dominican Republic from 1894 to 1898. He was an activist for the rights of Black Americans, working in Boston and...
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35. Herb Wesson
1951-. (aged 75)
politician
Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr. is an American politician who served as a councilmember representing the 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, 2020, and again on an appointed basis from March 22, 2022 until August 25, 2022. He was also the President of the Los Angeles City Council and Speaker of the California State...
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36. Francis James Grimké
1850-1937 (aged 87)
pastor
religious leader
Francis James Grimké was an American Presbyterian minister in Washington, DC. He was regarded for more than half a century as one of the leading African-American clergy of his era and was prominent in working for equal rights. He was active in the Niagara Movement and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
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37. Fayette Pinkney
1948-2009 (aged 61)
singer
Fayette Regina Pinkney was an American singer and an original member of the musical trio The Three Degrees.
38. Ericka Huggins
1951-. (aged 75)
sociologist
Ericka Huggins is an American activist. She was a leading member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) for 14 years. She was married to fellow BPP member John Huggins in 1968.
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39. Oscar Brown, Jr
1926-2005 (aged 79)
singer
radio personality
jazz musician
composer
singer-songwriter
Oscar Brown Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, actor, and civil rights activist (Brown was African-American). Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U.S. Congress. Brown wrote many songs (125 have been published), 12 albums, and more than a dozen musical plays.
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40. Monte Irvin
1919-2016 (aged 97)
baseball player
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles (1938–1942, 1946–1948), New York Giants (1949–1955) and Chicago Cubs (1956). He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University. Irvin left Lincoln to spend several seasons in...
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41. Sheila Oliver
1952-2023 (aged 71)
politician
Sheila Yvette Oliver was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey from 2018 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Oliver was the first Black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of New Jersey and was the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey.
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42. Cherelle Parker
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
Cherelle Lesley Parker is an American politician and former educator serving as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to hold the office.
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43. Saara Kuugongelwa
1967-. (aged 59)
minister
economist
politician
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is a Namibian politician serving as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia since 21 March 2025. She served as the Prime Minister of Namibia from 2015 to 2025. She is a member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 1995. She served as...
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44. Cab Calloway
1907-1994 (aged 87)
stage actor
dancer
actor
conductor
jazz musician
Cabell Calloway III was an American jazz singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.
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45. Gil Scott-Heron
1949-2011 (aged 62)
costume designer
performing artist
theatrical director
recording artist
rapper
Gilbert Scott-Heron was an American jazz poet, singer, musician and author, known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson fused jazz, blues and soul with lyrics relative to social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles. He referred to himself as...
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46. Nnamdi Azikiwe
1904-1996 (aged 92)
politician
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe GCFR PC, commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism as well as...
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47. Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993 (aged 85)
jurist
lawyer
judge
politician
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice. Before his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was...
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48. Langston Hughes
1901-1967 (aged 66)
children's writer
biographer
writer
essayist
playwright
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
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49. Charles L. Blockson
1933-2023 (aged 90)
historian
book collector
curator
Charles Leroy Blockson was an American historian, author, bibliophile, and collector of books, historical documents, art, and other materials related to the history and culture of African Americans, continental Africans, and the African diaspora throughout the rest of the world. He curated two university collections related to the study of African-American history and culture: the Charles L. Blockson Collection of...
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50. Emerson Emory
1925-2003 (aged 78)
psychiatrist
physician
Emerson Emory was an American internist and psychiatrist from Dallas, Texas. Aspiring to be a doctor from an early age, he attended Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College before serving in the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army during World War II. After studying at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, Emory conducted...
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51. Kwame Nkrumah
1909-1972 (aged 63)
politician
university teacher
writer
diplomat
lecturer
Francis Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from Britain. He was then the first prime minister and then the president of Ghana, from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization...
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52. Roscoe Lee Browne
1925-2007 (aged 82)
athletics competitor
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
film actor
Roscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his many guest appearances on TV series from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as movies like The Cowboys (1972) with John Wayne, and The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) with John Amos and Jan-Michael Vincent, but his biggest roles were as narrator in Babe and...
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