Ebenezer Bassett
Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, born on October 16, 1833, in Derby, Connecticut, was a groundbreaking African American diplomat and educator. After graduating from the Connecticut Normal School, he became principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia where he championed education and civil rights for African Americans. His leadership in Pennsylvania positioned him as a national figure in Reconstruction-era advocacy. In 1869, he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as U.S. Minister to Haiti, becoming the first African American diplomat. Bassett died on November 13, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York.
“Ebenezer Bassett.” Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration, ritm.yale.edu/ebenezer-bassett. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
“Ebenezer Bassett: The Legacy of America’s First African American Diplomat.” American Foreign Service Association, www.afsa.org/ebenezer-bassett-legacy-americas-first-african-american-diplomat. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
“Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett.” Central Connecticut State University, www.ccsu.edu/bassett/ebenezer-d-bassett. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
“Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett Historical Marker.” Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php%3FmarkerId=1-A-3C1.html. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Teal, Christopher. Hero of Hispaniola: America’s First Black Diplomat Ebenezer D. Bassett. Praeger, 2006.
Wadle, Douglas R. “Ebenezer D. Bassett: The First Black American Diplomat.” Student Work, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1996, digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/461/. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.