Culture

William H. Crogman: the Philipsburg-born scholar who led Clark University

A profile of William Henry Crogman (1841–1931), born in Philipsburg, who became the first African American president of Clark University in Atlanta.

By SXM Daily · October 17, 2026

William Henry Crogman was born in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, on 5 May 1841 and rose to become the first African American president of Clark University in Atlanta. A classical scholar and author, he is one of the most distinguished people born on the island in the 19th century.

Photo: Atlanta University Photographs, Robert W. Woodruff Library / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

From Philipsburg to Atlanta

Crogman lost his parents when he was still a boy. BlackPast says he was orphaned at 12, while the Gale encyclopedia entry says both his parents had died by the time he was 14. His early life began in Philipsburg, but his career would unfold in the United States.

He studied at Atlanta University and was part of its first graduating class, in 1876, according to the Gale entry on his life.

Leading Clark University

Crogman served as president of Clark University (later Clark College) in Atlanta from 1903 to 1910. Gale records that he was elected in 1903 and resigned in 1910. The Library of Congress describes him as the institution's first African American president, a milestone for the college and for Black higher education in the American South.

Author of Progress of a Race

With Henry F. Kletzing, Crogman co-wrote Progress of a Race, a book the Library of Congress blog has highlighted as a daring work on African American achievement. The Library of Congress gives two different publication years for the book, so we have left the year out.

Later life

Gale records that he moved to Philadelphia in 1921, after retiring. He died in Kansas City, Missouri, on 16 October 1931: his daughter, Ada Crogman Franklin, telegraphed W. E. B. Du Bois from there the next day, and the Rutgers Database of Black Classicists also gives Kansas City. His life began in Philipsburg, and St. Maarten can count him among its notable sons.

Sources

https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/crogman-william-h
https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/crogman-william-h-1841-1931/
https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b058-i274
https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/8629-crogman-william-henry
https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2024/07/william-crogmans-daring-race-textbook-of-1898/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_H._Crogman.jpg

Source: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2024/07/william-crogmans-daring-race-textbook-of-1898/