Richard Abrom Henries (1908–1980) was a Liberian politician who was speaker of the

Liberian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the Senate comprises the Legislature of Liberia. The number of seats is fixed by law at 73, with each county being apportioned ...

Early life

Richard Abrom Henries was born in

Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

on 16 September 1908 unto the union of George E. Henries, an

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people or Congo people or Congau people in Liberian English,Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of Afric ...

carpenter and merchant, and Eliza B. Henries, née Robinson, a seamstress. Henries was orphaned at age sixteen years old when his parents died in 1924. Henries subsequently lived with his grandmother and two aunts.

Education

Henries graduated at the top of his class from the

College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumn ...

in 1927. Because he had had a difficult time putting himself through high school, he decided not to go to college. However, his aunt, the late Martha Robinson and her husband, the late Henry A. Clements, encouraged him to enroll at

Liberia College The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

and promised to help him with his tuition. Henries enrolled in college, led his class throughout his college years and graduated in 1931 as the valedictorian of his class with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Henries was subsequently appointed as an associate professor of mathematics a few months after his graduation from Liberia College. Subsequently, from 1946 to 1951, he served the University of Liberia as secretary of the Board of Trustees and, from 1951 to 1980, as president of the Board. At different times, during the years after his graduation, his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Civil Laws and Doctor of Humanities.

Death

Henries was one of the thirteen

political leaders who were executed in the 1980 Liberian coup.

Personal life

Henries was married to

Angie Brooks Angie Elizabeth Brooks (August 24, 1928 – September 9, 2007) was a Liberian diplomat and jurist. She was the only African female President of the United Nations General Assembly. She was also the second woman from any nation to head the U.N. bo ...

, a Liberian, and subsequently to A. Doris Banks Henries, an African American.

References

*https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175243081/richard-abrom-henries *http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/item.htm?id=http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/lcp/tubman/VAA7927-1812 {{DEFAULTSORT:Henries, Richard Abrom 1908 births 1980 deaths Americo-Liberian people College of West Africa alumni Executed Liberian people People executed by Liberia by firing squad Politicians from Monrovia Speakers of the House of Representatives of Liberia University of Liberia alumni 20th-century Liberian politicians