John Miller Marquess was born in Helena, Arkansas on February 23, 1882 to Mariah and Dr. John W. Marquess. At the age of thirteen he left his hometown for Nashville, Tenn. to attend Fisk preparatory school and University until 1902. While a student at Fisk he played football, basketball, and baseball while participating in the school’s musical outlets such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

In September of 1902 he arrived at Dartmouth after applying as a transfer student after receiving his B.A. from Fisk University. His credits were admittedly recognized because he would go on to graduate from the institution in two years. It is unclear as to whether or not Marquess did participate in sports given that his athletic career at Dartmouth is largely undocumented by the college. Although several outside sources accredit Marquess with athletic participation, the school newspaper and other athletic records do not indicate such. As an undergraduate at Dartmouth he is recorded to have participated in The College Choir, Glee Club, and the Orpheus Club.

After graduating Dartmouth in 1904 John Marquess would begin his work in education. Between 1904-08 he worked at the African Methodist Episcopal Institutions, Shorter College and Kittrell Junior College, where he taught mathematics. He left Kittrell in 1908 to become the second principal of Sumner High School in KC, Kansas. Named after Charles Sumner a white abolitionist, Sumner was created due to racial tension in Kansas City, Kansas that prevented black students to attend class at the same time as white students after a black teenager shot and killed a white teenager for unknown reasons. He was principal of the school from 1908 to 1916 and grossly increased the school size. He also started adult classes in the school to educate African-Americans in the area.

 In 1916, Mr. Marquess became the president of the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma. Over the years leading to Marquess’ presidency conversation around the college hovered around whether the school should move more towards liberal arts or industrial education. During his presidency he removed the majority of the institutions liberal arts courses.During his time at the college he became a member of a graduate chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

While in Pennsylvania he became an integral member of the Republican Party. He became  leader of the Eastern Federation of Negro Republicans and fought for the rights of blacks. At the 1936 Republican National Convention  he stated, “unless we reject the theory that the world can be reformed by legislative enactment, we shall see a dictatorship in America; and dictatorship would ruin the Republic and set my people back a hundred years.” His commitment to African Americans is evident in this statement along with his respect in the Republican Party. In 1932, he famously seconded Herbert Hoover as the Republican delegate to run for reelection as President of the United States. In May of the following year, 1933, John Miller Marquess, a leader for the African American race, passed away from a heart attack.

---

Photo Sources

1. Dartmouth College. Aegis 1904. (Hanover, NH: Class of 1904, 1904), Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Archives Reading Room.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Middleton, Britt. “116 Years Ago Today: Historically Black Langston University Was Founded.” Good Black News. 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 8 May 2015.