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Gregory Swanson

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Gregory Swanson
Photograph of Gregory Swanson consulting the Assistant Dean
Gregory Swanson "consults with the assistant dean of the law school after registering for classes on September 15, 1950."
Born1924
Died1992
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
OccupationPracticing attorney[1]
Years active1961 – 1984
EmployerInternal Revenue Service
Known forbeing the first African-American to attend the University of Virginia.

Gregory Hayes Swanson, JD, B.Soc.Sc. (born 1924 in Danville, Virginia).[2] Swanson was the first African American to attend the University of Virginia (UVa). He was a practicing attorney from his hometown Danville, Virginia. He was a graduate of Howard University with Bachelor's degrees in political science and law. His desire was to study corporation law and insurance at the University of Virginia, but his first application to the University was rejected in 1949 but won acceptance to the university in 1950. In July 1951, after completing one year at UVa, Swanson withdrew the University "due to what he described as an overwhelming climate of racial hostility and harassment."[2] He then went on to practice law in Martinsville and Alexandria, Virginia. And in 1961, he joined the legal staff of the IRS snf continued there up until his retirement in 1984. He died in 1992.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Gregory Swanson, first African American admitted to the University of Virginia". Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Gregory Swanson, First African-American Admitted to UVA (1950)". www.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.