Pinchback, P.B.S. (Pinckney Benton Stewart)
1837-1921 · Contribution: 1872-1873
Law & Civil Rights
Generally credited as the first African American to serve as a U.S. state governor, taking an oath of office in Louisiana in 1872

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1837-1921
- Category
- Law & Civil Rights
Impact on the world
Pinchback reached the governorship of a U.S. state during Reconstruction, a height of Black political power not approached again for a century.
Sources
- U.S. Senate Historical Office
1 more sources and references are available to members.
More in Law & Civil Rights
Allen, Macon Bolling
1816-1894
First African American lawyer in the United States (1844); among the earliest Black judicial officeholders (Justice of the Peace, 1847)
Bedford, Louis A. Jr.
1926-2014
First African American judge in Dallas County, Texas
Bolin, Jane Matilda
1908-2007
First Black woman to become a judge in the United States
Booker, Cory Anthony
1969-
First African American U.S. senator from New Jersey