Alfred Oscar Coffin

Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, on May 14, 1861, he studied at Fisk University, where he earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree before continuing to Illinois Wesleyan University. In 1889, he completed a PhD in biology, with a thesis titled The Origin of the Mound Builders, and is widely remembered as the first African American to earn a doctorate in the biological sciences.

His career took him into teaching rather than laboratory research. He taught at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College and later served at Wiley University, where he was a professor of mathematics and Romance languages. That mix of subjects hints at the range of his interests and abilities.

Coffin also wrote beyond the classroom. Works associated with him include The Origin of the Mound Builders and Land without Chimneys; or, the Byways of Mexico. He died in 1933, leaving behind a story of academic firsts and determined scholarship in an era that offered very few opportunities to Black scientists and professors.