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George Lewis Ruffin (December 16, 1834 – November 19, 1886) was an American barber, attorney, politician, and judge. In 1869, he graduated from Harvard Law School, the first African American to do so. He was also the first African American elected to the Boston City Council. [1] Ruffin was elected in 1870 to the Massachusetts Legislature.
Sep 30, 2011 · George Lewis Ruffin 1869 and Archibald H. Grimke 1874, the first two blacks to graduate from HLS, entered a school that was still a “stronghold of anti-black feeling,” Coquillette said. Ruffin served as a Massachusetts court judge until his death 1886, and Grimke, an escaped slave from South Carolina, became national vice president of the NAACP.
Ruffin was born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 16, 1834. He was the eldest of eight children of free blacks who had received some education. Ruffin's parents abandoned their small property in Richmond and moved their family to Boston in 1853, soon after the state of Virginia passed a law prohibiting blacks from learning to read.
Jan 19, 2007 · George Lewis Ruffin was born December 16, 1834 in Richmond, Virginia, the son of free Blacks. He was educated in Boston, Massachusetts and soon became a force in the city’s civic leadership. After marrying Josephine St. Pierre, Mr. Ruffin supported his family by working as … Read MoreGeorge Lewis Ruffin (1834-1886)
In 1871, Ruffin was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and he served on the Boston City Council from 1876 to 1877. He worked for the law firm of Harvey Jewell, focused on criminal law, and represented Black and White clients. “In the post-bellum decades, Boston’s Black citizens demanded and won both civil rights legislation and seats ...
Mar 25, 2022 · By most accounts, Ruffin donated so much of his income to social causes and charities that he died poor. He died November 20, 1886, of Bright’s disease after several weeks of illness. Ruffin’s legacy was honored in 1984, the year the Justice George Lewis Ruffin Society was founded.
George Lewis Ruffin (1834-1886) First African American graduate of Harvard Law, Pioneering Judge and Politician Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842-1924) Activist, Journalist, Editor and Suffragette George and Josephine Ruffin were remarkable individuals in their own right, and together were
