John Newton Templeton

Kentisha Dinham

John Newton Templeton

In approximately 1805, John Newton Templeton was born on a cotton plantation in rural South Carolina. At the age of eight years old, Templeton along with his family were freed by the will of his owner in 1813. At this time he, along with his family, moved to the state of Ohio, eventually taking residence in Adams County. Ohio University, opposed to any other institution, allowed qualified men of color to seek admittance without any confining provisions.

With the assistance of the president of Ohio University at that time, Reverend Robert G. Wilson, Templeton applied and became enrolled in 1824. Four years later, John Newton Templeton earned his bachelor’s degree becoming the first African-American to graduate from Ohio University and the fourth African-American to graduate from a university in the United States. Throughout his college career, Templeton sustained a remarkable academic rank and was actively involved in the Athenian Literacy Society.

After completing his time at Ohio University, Templeton went on to become one of the officers of the Chillicothe Colored Anti-Slavery Society. He became co-editor of a local African-American newspaper formerly known as The Mystery. He was also the first teacher and principal of the first and only school designated for black children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

It is very apparent that Templeton’s legacy still lives on at Ohio University. Along with a scholarship fund for multicultural students in his honor, John Newton Templeton has also had the acclaimed Alumni Gate constructed to represent the impact of his presence here at Ohio University.