Fourah Bay College is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in

Freetown Freetown is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educ ...

, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

and, furthermore, the first university-level institution in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is a constituent college of the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted in ...

(USL) and was formerly affiliated with

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

(1876–1967).

History

Foundation

The college was established in February 1827 as an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

missionary school by the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

with support from Charles MacCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone.

Samuel Ajayi Crowther Samuel Ajayi Crowther ( – 31 December 1891), was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Born in Osogun (in what is now Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria), he and his family were captured by slave raid ...

was the first student to be enrolled at Fourah Bay. Fourah Bay College soon became a magnet for

Sierra Leone Creoles The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the ...

and other Africans seeking higher education in

British West Africa British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or the formal colonial administrative entity. British West Africa as a colonial entity was ori ...

. These included Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ivorians and many more, especially in the fields of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and education. It was the first western-style university in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

. Under

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...

, Freetown was known as the "

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

of Africa" due to the large number of excellent schools in Freetown and surrounding areas. The first black principal of the university was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, Reverend Edward Jones from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, United States. Lamina Sankoh was a prominent early academic; Francis Heiser was principal from 1920 to 1922. Davidson Nicol was the first Sierra Leonean principal in 1966. In 1985 unrested broke out in Fourah Bay College following a purge of those suspected of militancy inspired by Gaddafi's Green Book, and retaliatory violence and arrests ensued.

Old Fourah Bay College Building

Governor William Fergusson laid the foundation stone of the original Fourah Bay College building when construction started in 1845, with construction supervised by Edward Jones, who became the institution's first principal. The original Fourah Bay College building remained in regular use until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when the college was temporarily moved outside Freetown. After the war it became the headquarters of

Sierra Leone Government Railway :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The Sierra Leone Government Railway operated in Sierra Leone from 1897 to 1974. It was unusual in that it formed a national railway system constructed solely to a Narrow ...

and later as a Magistrate court. The building was proclaimed a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

in 1955. The building ceased to be in use in early 1990, and caught fire in 1999.

Administration

Faculties

* Faculty of Arts * Faculty of Engineering * Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences * Faculty of Social Sciences * Faculty of Law *Faculty of Applied Accounting

Institutes

Institute of Adult Education and Extra-Mural Studies

Institute of African Studies

Work began on the building of the Institute of African Studies in 1966 with half the £40,000 being provided by the UK Technical Assistance Programme. The first Director was Michael Crowder with J. G. Edowu-Hyde as secretary. The journal ''Sierra Leone Studies'' was also relaunched at this time.

Institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography

Institute of Population Studies

Institute of Library, Information and Communication Studies

Students

As of 1998/1999, the student enrollment was around 2,000 in four faculties and five institutes. It had consistently expanded in the 10 previous years.

Notable alumni

''See also :Fourah Bay College alumni'' *

, one-time

bishop of West Africa * Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, economist and current mayor of Freetown *

Michael Adekunle Ajasin Michael Adekunle Ajasin (28 November 1908 – 3 October 1997) was a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Ondo State from October 1979 to October 1983 on the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) platform during the Nigerian Second Republic. B ...

* Kelvin Anderson * Alexander Babatunde Akinyele *

Zainab Bangura Haja Zainab Hawa Bangura (; born 18 December 1959) is a Sierra Leonean politician and social activist who has been serving as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) since 2018, appointed by United Nations Secretary-Ge ...

* Edward Wilmot Blyden III (1918–2010), political scientist and former dean at Fourah Bay College *

Kojo Botsio Kojo Botsio (21 February 1916 – 6 February 2001) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician. He studied in Britain, where he became the treasurer of the West African National Secretariat and an acting warden for the West African Students' Union. H ...

* David Omashola Carew, economist and former cabinet minister *

Henry Rawlingson Carr Henry Carr (15 August 1863 – 1945) was a Nigerian educator and administrator. He was one of the most prominent West Africans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and was a member of the legislative council in Lagos from 1918&n ...

, educator and administrator * Christian Frederick Cole, first black graduate of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and first African

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

to practice in the English courts * Robert Wellesley Cole, general surgeon and first

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, ...

to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons * J. B. Dauda, Foreign Minister * Thomas Decker,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

, poet, journalist, and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

Kenneth Dike Kenneth Onwuka Dike (17 December 1917 – 26 October 1983) was a Nigerian educationist, historian and the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor of the nation's premier college, the University of Ibadan. During the Nigerian civil war, he moved to Harva ...

, Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...

* M. G. Ejaife * Edward Fasholé-Luke (born 1934) academic and Anglican

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

* David J. Francis * Ibrahim Fofanah, Avionics engineer *

Clifford Nelson Fyle Clifford Nelson Fyle (March 29, 1933 – January 18, 2006) was a Sierra Leonean academic and author, known for writing the lyrics to the Sierra Leone National Anthem. Early life Clifford Nelson Fyle was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone ...

, academic and author, known for writing the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

to the Sierra Leone National Anthem * Sam Franklyn Gibson, former mayor of Freetown. *

Ella Koblo Gulama Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama OBE, GCOR (26 January 1921 – 9 September 2006)J. E. Casely Hayford * Lati Hyde-Forster, first African principal of

Annie Walsh Memorial School The Annie Walsh Memorial School is an all-girls secondary school in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was established in 1849 originally in Charlotte, a newly established village for recaptives. It is claimed to be the oldest girls school in Sub-Saha ...

and first female graduate of Fourah Bay College * Africanus Horton,

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, scientist and political thinker who worked towards African independence a century before it occurred * Thomas Horatio Jackson * James Ayodele Jenkins-Johnston, barrister and

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

defender * Obadiah Johnson * Thomas Sylvester Johnson (1873–1955), educator, theologian and former

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Sierra Leone * Eldred Durosimi Jones (1925–2020), linguist, literary critic,

university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

and principal of Fourah Bay College * Abu Bakarr Kanu, Professor of Chemistry at the

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academ ...

* John Karefa-Smart *

Fatou Sanyang Kinteh Fatou Sanyang Kinteh also known as Fatou Kinteh is a Gambian politician and women's rights activist. She currently serves as the Gambian minister for women's affairs, children, and social welfare. She also serves as the national coordinator of ...

* Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone *

Sia Koroma Sia Nyama Koroma (born on 19 March 1958 in, Kono District, British Sierra Leone) is Sierra Leonean biochemist and psychiatric nurse. She served as First Lady of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 - 4 April 2018. She is the wife of Ernest Bai ...

, First Lady *

Sir Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

* Sam Mbakwe * Arthur Daniel Porter III (1924–2019), author, professor of history and university administrator * Benjamin Quartey-Papafio * Frederick Poku Sarkodee, one of the three Ghanaian High Court judges that were martyred on June 30, 1982. * Kadi Sesay * Moses Nathanael Scott (1911–1988), clergyman and Anglican

Bishop of Sierra Leone The Anglican Diocese of Sierra Leone was founded in 1852. Bishops of Sierra Leone * 1852–1854 Owen Vidal (1st bishop, died at sea, 1854) * 1855–1857 John Weeks (died in office of "African Sickness") * 1857–1860 John Bowen (died in office ...

who later became

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

of the

Province of West Africa The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 17 dioceses in eight countries of West Africa, specifically in Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Ghana is th ...

* Shekou Touray, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

* Abel Bankole Stronge, lawyer and one-time Speaker of the Parliament of Sierra Leone * John Bankole Thompson (1936–2021), jurist, judge and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

* Akintola Gustavus Wyse (died 2002), author and professor of history at Fourah Bay College

References

External links

*
Official Fourah Bay College website

Fourah Bay College history