Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr.

~Celebrating Black History Month~

Born: July 1, 1877, Washington, D.C.

Died: November 26, 1970, Chicago, IL

Occupation: Military Personnel

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. was the first African American to be named a general in the American military. Davis claimed he was born on July 1, 1877, but according to some sources, his birthdate may have been in May 1880, and he lied about his age to enlist in the Army without the permission of his parents. He was the son of Louis P. H. Davis and Henrietta Stewart Davis. His father worked as a messenger for the Interior Department and his mother was a nurse. The Washington, D.C., native attended M Street High School, but took classes at Howard University during his senior year.

On July 13, 1898, Davis joined the U.S. Army as a cadet in high school. He was a temporary first lieutenant assigned to the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry, an all-black unit stationed at Chickamauga Park, Georgia, from October 1898 until the unit disbanded in March 1899 after the war ended. Davis reentered the Army on June 18 as a private with the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) at Fort Duchesne, Utah. Within a year, Davis reached the rank of sergeant major. He was mentored by Lieutenant Charles Young, the only black officer in the military at that time. Young encouraged Davis to seek an officer’s commission which he received on February 1, 1901, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, along with another former enlisted African American, John E. Green.

In the spring of 1901, Davis received his first overseas assignment with the 10th Cavalry as second lieutenant. He returned to the U.S. in August 1902, and served four more decades in many capacities, including professor of Military Science at Wilberforce University, military attaché in Liberia, and border patrol along the Mexican-U.S. border.

In 1902, Davis married Elnora Dickerson. The couple had two children, a daughter named Olive Davis, born in 1905, and a son called Benjamin O. Davis Jr., born in October 1954, who became the second African American to attain the rank of general in any branch of the U.S. Military (in this case, The U.S. Airforce).

From 1917 to 1920, Davis served in the Philippines and reached the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel before returning to the U.S. as a captain. Between 1920 and 1938, Davis served as professor of Military Science at both Tuskegee and Wilberforce. In 1938, as a colonel, he took command of the 369th Regiment, New York National Guard. On October 25, 1940, he was appointed brigadier general.

Despite being promoted general at the age of 60, Davis did not see much action during World War II. He mostly made inspection tours of black troops in Europe during the course of the conflict and became an increasingly vocal supporter of the desegregation of the U.S. Army. In 1947, he was appointed special assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The following year, on July 20, 1948, President Harry Truman presided over the ceremony in which Davis retired from the military after fifty years of service. 

In the year 1902, Davis married Elnora Dickerson. During the course of their marriage, the couple had two children, a daughter named Olive Davis, born in 1905, and a son called Benjamin O. Davis Jr., born in October 1954, who became the second African American to attain the rank of general, although in this case, it was in the U.S. Air Force. A memorial service was held at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of Benjamin O. Davis Sr., who passed away on November 26, 1970, at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Famous Quote:

“I did my duty. That’s what I set out to do—to show that I could make my way if I knew my job.” – Benjamin O. Davis Sr.

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings,” (Philippians 2:14).