author
Alfred Oscar Coffin
1861–1933
A pioneering scholar who broke new ground in American education, he became the first African American known to earn a PhD in the biological sciences. His career moved across science, mathematics, and modern languages, reflecting an unusually wide range of interests.
2 Audiobooks
Land without chimneys; or, the byways of Mexico
by Alfred Oscar Coffin
The Origin of the Mound Builders
by Alfred Oscar Coffin
About the author
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, in 1861, Alfred Oscar Coffin studied at Fisk University and later earned both a master's degree and a PhD in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1889. He is widely remembered for that achievement, which marked a major milestone in the history of African American scholarship.
Coffin taught at several schools during his career, including Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, and he later worked as a professor of mathematics and Romance languages at Langston University in Oklahoma. The range of subjects he taught shows how flexible and ambitious his academic life was.
He also wrote books, including The Origin of the Mound Builders and Land Without Chimneys; or, The Byways of Mexico. Coffin died in 1933, but his story still stands out as one of determination, intellectual curiosity, and quiet historic firsts.