James Dallas Burrus (original) (raw)

James Dallas Burrus (14 October 1846 – 5 December 1928) was an American educator, druggist and philanthropist from Tennessee. He and a brother were among the first three graduates of Fisk University, the first African Americans to graduate from a liberal arts college south of the Mason–Dixon line. After completing graduate work in mathematics at Dartmouth College, Burrus became the first professor of mathematics at Fisk University. He later continued his teaching career at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College in Mississippi.