First African-American graduate of Indiana University
Marcellus Neal (1868-1939) was the first African-American male to graduate from Indiana University in 1895, 75 years after the university's founding in 1820. Following his graduation from IU with a Bachelor's degree in mathematics, Neal travelled and worked short -term teaching jobs before settling in Dallas, Texas, where he was head of the science department at Washington High School. Neal later married and moved to Chicago where he worked a Civil Service job and wrote political editorials for African-American newspapers. Neal died in 1939 after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run accident.