African American engineer, architect, and mathematician Archie Alphonso Alexander was born on May 14, 1888 in Ottumwa, Iowa. With his parents’ help and with earnings from a few part-time jobs, Alexander attended Highland Park College and Cummins Art College in Des Moines before entering the University of Iowa in 1908 to study engineering. He played tackle for the school’s varsity football team, earning the nickname, “Alexander the Great.” During the summers Alexander worked as a draftsman for Marsh Engineers, a Des Moines bridge-designing firm, and in 1912 he received a Bachelor of Science degree, becoming the University of Iowa’s first African American student to complete the engineering program. Alexander obtained his civil engineering degree from Iowa State University in 1925.

Learn more: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/alexander-archie-alphonso-1888-1958/

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