Wright, Richard Robert, 1855-1947

Richard Robert Wright, Sr. was born in Dalton, Georgia in 1855 to Richard Robert Waddell and Harriet Lynch Waddell. Shortly after the Civil War, the family moved to Cuthbert, Georgia where Wright attended school. Wright later moved to Atlanta and attended Storrs School, a forerunner of Atlanta University. He wasamong the original eighty-nine students who entered the University in October 1869. He graduated from their preparatory course in 1872 and from the college as valedictorian in 1876. In 1879, Wright received his A.M. degree from the same University. After graduation, Wright moved to Cuthbert, Georgia where Wright founded the Howard Normal School. During this time, he met Lydia Elizabeth Howard. The two married on June 7, 1877and went on to have nine children.

In 1880, he became principal of Edmund Asa Ware High School, the first black high school in Georgia supported by city funds. During this time, Wright called the first convention of black teachers in Georgia in 1878, and presided as President of that group for three years. In 1880, this organization became the Georgia State Teachers Association. Briefly in 1898, Wright was appointed as Major and paymaster of the United States Volunteers in the United States Army. He was the first African American to serve as an Army paymaster and was the highest ranking African-American officer during the Spanish-American War. He remained at Ware until he was appointed President of Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youths, now Savannah State University.

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