Alberta Virginia Scott (c. 1875 — August 30, 1902) was an American educator. She was the first African-American graduate of Radcliffe College, in 1898.
Early life Alberta Virginia Scott was born near Richmond, Virginia. Her mother worked as a cook."Harvard's Negro Graduate" The Dighton Herald (August 18, 1898): 3. via Newspapers.com She raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her family moved when she was six years old. Her family were members of the historic Union Baptist Church in Cambridge.Church History, Union Baptist Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Scott attended Allston School (finishing in 1889)"Our Public Schools" Cambridge Press (June 29, 1889): 2. and then Cambridge Latin School, graduating with the class of 1894."The Valedictory" Cambridge Tribune (June 30, 1894): 7.
In 1898, Alberta Virginia Scott became the first African-American graduate of Radcliffe College."Alberta Virginia Scott, Class of 1898" photograph in the collection of the Schlesinger Library.Kris Snibbe, "A Window into African-American History" Harvard Gazette (February 4, 2011).
Career Alberta Scott planned for a career in teaching."Colored Graduate" Kansas City Journal (July 3, 1898): 15. via Newspapers.com She taught in Indianapolis and, briefly, at Tuskegee Institute after graduating from Radcliffe."Colored Teacher Dead" Cambridge Chronicle (September 6, 1902): 6.
Death and legacy Alberta Scott died in 1902, in Cambridge, aged 26 years after a 16 month illness attributed to overwork and grief after the loss of her father."Deaths" Cambridge Tribune (September 6, 1902): 8. "Her death cuts off what should have been a useful and creditable life of work among those of her race," concluded an obituary in a Cambridge newspaper.
There is a placard about Alberta V. Scott in Cambridge, placed by the Cambridge African American History Project in 1993.Cambridge Office of Tourism, Alberta V. Scott placard. The Association of Black Harvard Women (ABHW) offers an Alberta V. Scott Mentorship Program, named in her honor.Association of Black Harvard Women, About: History.
References
External links Radcliffe College autograph collection: A Finding Aid. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.