Coleman, Frank

Impact on the world

Co-founded Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Howard University in 1911 alongside fellow students Edgar Love and Oscar Cooper, serving as the new organization's first Grand Keeper of Seals, or National Treasurer, before pursuing an academic career in physics that culminated in his appointment as chairman of Howard's Physics Department, a position he reached despite the severe scarcity of academic opportunities available to Black scientists in his era.

Life & background

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1890 and, like fellow founders Edgar Love and Oscar Cooper, educated at M Street High School, Coleman entered Howard University in 1909 and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1913 with an undergraduate record strong enough that the university appointed him directly to its faculty and eventually to head its Physics Department; the trio, nicknamed the 'Three Musketeers' on campus, approached biology professor Ernest Everett Just that same year about founding a new fraternity, leading to Omega Psi Phi's establishment in November 1911, with Coleman serving as its first national treasurer. He pursued further graduate study at the University of Chicago, earning a master's degree, and additional advanced training at the University of Pennsylvania, while also serving as one of the relatively few Black commissioned officers in the United States Army during World War I. He remained active in his fraternity's affairs throughout his life, attending its fiftieth anniversary celebration in 1961 alongside fellow founders Love and Cooper, and died in 1967 at age 76, predeceasing both of them.

Sources

1. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. official history; Epsilon Mu Mu chapter history; Tau Pi Chapter founders page; 4thDOPPF chapter history