Born in Washington, D.C. in 1874, Cromwell began her career teaching in D.C. public schools while taking college courses at Howard University.!
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Otelia Cromwell
American scholar and professor (1874–1972)
Otelia Cromwell (April 8, 1874 – April 25, 1972) was a distinguished scholar and Professor of English Language and Literature at Miner Teachers College now known as University of the District of Columbia.
She was the first African American to graduate from Smith College, receiving a B.A. in Classics in 1900. She later earned her M.A. at Columbia University in 1910 and a Ph.D. in English at Yale University in 1926, becoming the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate degree there.[1]
Early life, education and early career
Born on April 8, 1874, in Washington, D.C., Otelia Cromwell was the daughter of Lucy McGuinn and John Wesley Cromwell, and the eldest of six children.[2] She was 12 when her mother died, leaving Otelia responsible for her five younger siblings.[3] After graduating from the Miner Normal School (now known as the University of the District of Columbia), she taugh