Hamilton Hatter (1856–1942) was an African-American professor at

Storer College Storer College was a historically black college in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, that operated from 1867 to 1955. A national icon for Black Americans, in the town where the 'end of American slavery began', as Frederick Douglass famously put i ...

, first president of

Bluefield State College Bluefield State University (Bluefield State) is a university in Bluefield, West Virginia that is an historically black university. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and converted to a university in the summer of 2022. It ad ...

(originally Bluefield Colored Institute) in

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield WV- VA micropolitan area, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020. Geography Bluefie ...

from 1895 to 1906. Hatter was born into slavery in 1856 in

Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

. In order to pay for his education, he worked as a builder, mechanic, and a sawmill manager. Hatter graduated from

in 1878. He then moved to Maine to attend two

Free Will Baptist Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal est ...

schools connected to Storer. He first attended

Nichols Latin School The Nichols Latin School was a Private university, private University-preparatory school, college preparatory school that operated in the late 19th century to prepare students of both Wealth, affluent and Mixed-income housing, mixed income backgro ...

and graduated from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

in Lewiston, Maine, in 1888. After graduation from Bates, Hatter then returned to Storer College, where he taught Greek, Latin, and mathematics until 1896, and served on the Board of Trustees until 1906. Hatter was active in Republican politics and in 1892 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

after receiving the Republican nomination. In 1893 Hatter received a patent for a device that improved corn harvesting. In 1895, Bluefield Colored Institute (later known as Bluefield State College) in West Virginia was founded with land-grant funds, and Governor

Virgil A. Lewis Virgil Anson Lewis (July 6, 1848 – December 5, 1912) was a lawyer, teacher and historian of the U.S. state of West Virginia, as well as (for one term in 1891) mayor of Mason City, West Virginia. His state history was used in West Virginia sc ...

chose Hamilton Hatter as the first principal of the school. Hatter served as principal until 1906, when Robert Page Sims replaced him. During World War I, Hatter spoke publicly on behalf of President Wilson's policies. Hamilton Hatter died in 1942 and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Bluefield, West Virginia. In 1974 Bluefield named the College president's home "Hamilton Hatter Hall".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatter, Hamilton 1856 births 1942 deaths 19th-century African-American academics 19th-century American inventors 19th-century American slaves 20th-century African-American people African-American inventors 20th-century African-American scientists American academic administrators Bates College alumni Bluefield State College faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States People from Bluefield, West Virginia People from Charles Town, West Virginia Storer College alumni Storer College faculty West Virginia Republicans Storer College trustees