death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date image article_title name occupation alma_mater
21 january 1913 philadelphia , pennsylvania washington , d.c. american 15 october 1837 fanny jackson coppin headshot.jpg fanny jackson coppin
 fanny jackson coppin teacher missionary oberlin college -lrb- ba -rrb-
fanny jackson coppin

fanny jackson coppin -lrb- january 8 , 1837 -- january 21 , 1913 -rrb- was an african-american educator and missionary .
born an american slave , fanny jackson 's freedom was purchased by her aunt at age 12 .
fanny jackson spent the rest of her youth working as a servant for author george henry calvert , studying at every opportunity .
in 1860 , she enrolled in oberlin college in ohio , the first college in the united states to accept both black and female students .
during her years as a student at oberlin college , she taught an evening course for free african americans in reading and writing , and she graduated with a bachelor 's degree in 1865 .
in 1865 , fanny jackson accepted a position at philadelphia 's institute for colored youth -lrb- now cheyney university of pennsylvania -rrb- .
she served as the principal of the ladies department and taught greek , latin , and mathematics .
in 1869 , fanny jackson was appointed as the principal of the institute after the departure of ebenezer bassett , becoming the first african american woman to become a school principal .
in her 37 years at the institute , fanny jackson was responsible for vast educational improvements in philadelphia .
during her years as principal , she was promoted by the board of education to superintendent .
she was the first african american superintendent of a school district in the united states , but soon went back to the being a school principal .
on december 21 , 1881 , fanny married reverend levi jenkins coppin , a minister of the african methodist episcopal church pastor of bethel ame church baltimore .
fanny jackson coppin started to become very involved with her husband 's missionary work , and in 1902 the couple went to south africa and performed a variety of missionary work , including the founding of the bethel institute , a missionary school with self-help programs .
after almost a decade of missionary work , fanny jackson coppin 's declining health forced her to return to philadelphia , and she died on january 21 , 1913 .
in 1926 , a baltimore teacher training school was named the fanny jackson coppin normal school -lrb- now coppin state university -rrb- .
