Robert Robinson Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Robinson Taylor
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | June 8, 1868 |
| Died | December 13, 1942 (aged 74) Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.
|
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | Henry Taylor Emily Still |
| Relatives | Robert Rochon Taylor (son) Barbara T. Bowman (granddaughter) Valerie Jarrett (great-granddaughter) |
Robert Robinson Taylor (born June 8, 1868 – died December 13, 1942) was an important American architect and teacher. He was the first African-American student to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1892, he became the first recognized African-American architect. He was a key and respected member of the Tuskegee Institute staff.
Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Taylor worked as an architect in the American South for over 40 years. He might have been part of the first Black architecture firm in the country. This firm, Taylor and Persley, started in 1920 with Louis H. Persley. He designed many early buildings for the Tuskegee Institute. He also designed buildings for other historically Black colleges and universities. Taylor worked closely with Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute's founder. He helped plan the campus and create the school's hands-on learning programs.
Contents
Robert Robinson Taylor's Early Life
Robert Robinson Taylor was born on June 8, 1868. His birthplace was Wilmington, North Carolina. His father, Henry Taylor, was a carpenter and businessman. Henry was born into slavery but became free in 1847. His mother, Emily Still, came from a family that was free even before the Civil War.
Robert left home for MIT in 1888. There, he studied architecture. He earned the Loring Scholarship in 1890 and 1891. This scholarship helped him pay for his studies. During his time at MIT, he met Booker T. Washington several times. Booker T. Washington wanted Taylor to create a hands-on learning program at Tuskegee. He also wanted Taylor to design and build new campus buildings.
In May 1892, MIT recommended Taylor for his architecture degree. He was one of twelve students in his program to graduate. His graduating class in 1892 was the largest in MIT's history. After graduating, Taylor didn't go straight to Tuskegee. He accepted their job offer later in 1892.
Robert Taylor's Amazing Career
Taylor's first project at Tuskegee University was the Science Hall. This building, also called Thrasher Hall, was finished in 1893. Students built the new Science Hall completely. They even made the bricks themselves, guided by Taylor. This project showed Booker T. Washington's belief. He wanted students to learn the importance and pride of working with their hands. It proved what African Americans could achieve in construction. It also highlighted the power of hands-on training at Tuskegee.
Many other buildings followed. These included the first Tuskegee Chapel (1895-1898). He also built The Oaks in 1899, which was the president's home. From 1899 to 1902, he worked in Cleveland, Ohio. He worked for himself and for the firm of Charles W. Hopkinson.
When he returned to Tuskegee in 1902, he became the architect. He also directed "mechanical industries" until he retired in the mid-1930s. Washington and Taylor looked to MIT as a guide. They wanted to create strong learning programs at Tuskegee. Taylor admired MIT and spoke about it in 1911. He explained how MIT inspired Tuskegee's growth. In a paper for the US Congress in 1911, Taylor shared examples. He showed how Tuskegee used MIT's strong ideas and methods. These were successfully used in a Black educational setting.
Taylor also designed buildings away from Tuskegee. He designed Carnegie libraries at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Another was at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. With his partner, the Black architect Louis H. Persley, he designed large buildings. These included ones at Selma University in Selma, Alabama. They also designed the Prince Hall Masonic Temple in Birmingham, Alabama. This building was an office and entertainment spot.
He served as vice-principal of Tuskegee starting in 1925. In 1929, he traveled to Kakata, Liberia. He helped plan the Booker Washington Institute there. This school was meant to be like "the Tuskegee of Africa." He also created a hands-on training program for it. Robert Taylor helped with flood relief in the Mississippi Valley. President Herbert Hoover appointed him to a special commission. He also led the Tuskegee chapter of the American Red Cross.
After retiring in 1933, he moved back to his native Wilmington, North Carolina. In 1935, North Carolina's governor appointed him to a board. This board oversaw what is now Fayetteville State University. In 1942, he wrote to his MIT class secretary. He mentioned he had received medical treatment and was feeling much better.
Robert Taylor's Family Life
In 1898, he married Beatrice Rochon Taylor. They had four children. Their son, Robert Rochon Taylor, later became a well-known housing advocate in Chicago. Beatrice's younger sister was Etnah Rochon Boutte, a teacher and pharmacist. Beatrice passed away in 1906. Robert married Nellie Chestnutt in 1912, and they had one child.
His Lasting Legacy
He died on December 13, 1942, during a service at the Tuskegee Chapel. He considered this building his greatest architectural work. He was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina.
His great-granddaughter, Valerie Jarrett, was a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama. The Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science at Tuskegee University is named after him. The Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago were named after his son. His son, Robert Rochon Taylor, was a community leader. The US Postal Service honored him with a postage stamp.
Buildings Designed by Taylor
- Several buildings on the campus of Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama (in order by descending completion date)
- Thrasher Hall (1893) Tuskegee Institute
- Tuskegee Chapel (1898) Tuskegee Institute
- The Oaks (1898) Tuskegee Institute
- Huntington Hall (1900) Tuskegee Institute
- Emery dormitories (1900) four buildings at Tuskegee Institute
- Dorothy Hall (1901) Tuskegee Institute
- Tantum Hall (1907) Tuskegee Institute
- Tompkins Hall (1910) dining facility, Tuskegee Institute
- White Hall (1910) women's dormitory, Tuskegee Institute
- John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital (1913) Tuskegee Institute
- James Hall (1921) Tuskegee Institute, with Louis H. Persley
- Sage Hall (1927) Tuskegee Institute, with Louis H. Persley
- Logan Hall (1931) Tuskegee Institute old gym, with Louis H. Persley
- Armstrong Science Building (1932) Tuskegee Institute, with Louis H. Persley
- Hollis Burke Frissell Library (1932) Tuskegee Institute, with Louis H. Persley
- Alta Settlement House (1901), Cleveland, Ohio, with Charles W. Hopkinson
- Women's Trades Building (1901)
- Carnegie Library (1901)
- Administration Building (1902–1903)
- Rockefeller Hall (1903)
- Men's residence Hall (1904)
- Douglass Hall (1904)
- Collis P. Huntington Memorial Building academic building (1904–1905)
- Milbank Agriculture Building (1909)
- The George Washington Carver Museum (1915), formerly laundry building at Tuskegee Institute
- King Administration Building (1920) Wiley College (now Wiley University), Marshall, Texas
- Dinkins Memorial Building (1921), Selma University, Selma, Alabama, with Louis H. Persley
- Prince Hall Masonic Temple (1924), Birmingham, Alabama; with Louis H. Persley
- Wilcox Trade Buildings, architecture buildings (1928)
See also
- African-American architects
- Robert Charles Bates, an early architecture teacher at Claflin University
 | May Edward Chinn |
 | Rebecca Cole |
 | Alexa Canady |
 | Dorothy Lavinia Brown |
