Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856 – April 26, 1940) was an American soldier, engineer, former slave and in 1877, the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.

Dec 26, 2020 · Born into slavery, Henry O. Flipper fought his way through prejudice and isolation to become the first African American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and first commissioned Black officer in the U.S. Army.

Feb 12, 2007 · Born near Thomasville, Georgia on March 21, 1856, Henry O. Flipper rose to prominence as the first African American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877.

Oct 22, 2020 · Henry Ossian Flipper, engineer, the first Black graduate of West Point, the eldest of five sons of Festus and Isabella Flipper, was born a slave at Thomasville, Georgia, on March 21, 1856.

Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African-American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was born into slavery on March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia. After the end of the Civil War, Flipper attended the American Missionary Association, and enrolled at Atlanta University in 1873.

Henry Ossian Flipper was born enslaved on March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia, to Festus and Isabella Flipper. Festus Flipper was a shoemaker and carriage trimmer. Flipper’s parents were enslaved by different men when his father’s enslaver decided to move to Atlanta.

On February 19, 1999 President William J. Clinton posthumously pardoned Second Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper. The event came 59 years after his death and 117 years after the young lieutenant had been dismissed from the United States Army.