By: Haleigh

JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN

Early Life

• John Franklin was born on January 2, 1915 in Rentiesville, Oklahoma only 50 years since slavery was abolished. John’s father practiced law and his mother was an elementary school teacher. From a young age he learned how to read and write.

Young Adult • John Hope Franklin earned his bachelor's degree from Fisk University in 1935, and his master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard in 1936 and 1941 respectively. He also received Teaching appointments at Fisk University, St. Augustine's College, North Carolina College, Howard University, Brooklyn College, the University of Chicago, and Duke University.

Books Written

• John Franklin Hope wrote many books in his life time. The Emancipation Proclamation, The Militant South, The Free Negro in North Carolina, Reconstruction After the Civil War, and A Southern Odyssey: Travelers in the Ante-bellum North. His most well know book is From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans. His Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities for 1976 was published in 1985 and received the Clarence L. Holte Literary Prize for that year.

Accomplishments

• For many years he served on the editorial board of the Journal of Negro History. He also served in the The American Studies Association, Southern Historical Association, United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, Organization of American Historians , and the American Historical Association . H was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Fisk University, the Chicago Public Library, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. In 1996, Professor Franklin was elected to the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Frame and in 1997 he received the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award

Later Years

• Professor Franklin died of congestive heart failure at Duke Hospital on the morning of March 25th, 2009. There was a celebration of his life and of his late wife Aurelia Franklin at 11 a.m. June 11 in Duke Chapel in honor of their 69th wedding anniversary.