Newspaper Page Text
Campus Mirror
Published During the College Year by the Students of Spelman College. Atlanta, Georgia
VOL. XVII JANUARY. 1941 No. 4
Dr. Art hur Dies in Atlanta
Dr. Samuel Howard Archer, president
emeritus of Morehouse College since Oc
tober 1, 1938. died January 15 at his
home at 138 Ashby Street, Southwest,
Atlanta. Georgia. He was in his seventy-
first year.
At the time of his retirement from the
presidency of Morehouse College in 1938,
Dr. Archer had concluded his thirty-
third year of service to Morehouse Col
lege, during which time he had been
professor of mathematics, football coach,
secretary of the faculty, director of the
summer school, purchasing agent, dean,
acting president and president. This last
position lie held for seven years prior
to his retirement. For eleven months in
1918-19 he was at the head of Morehouse
College as acting president when Dr.
John Hope was overseas, and again in
1930-31 he served in this capacity be
fore he was elected to the presidency.
Horn in Petersburg. Virginia, Decem
ber 23, 1870. Dr. Archer attended the
schools in that city, and con
tinued his education at Wayland Acad
emy in Washington, D. C., where for
two years he was a student-teacher.
From Wayland he went to Colgate Uni
versity in Hamilton, New York, where
he was graduated in 1902 with the de
gree of bachelor of arts. While in col
lege, Dr. Archer became prominent in
athletics, playing for three years as
guard on the varsity eleven. He was ac
tive also as a debater, and because of
his exceptional platform ability, was
chosen to be one of the speakers at his
commencement. In 1923 he received the
honorary degree of master of arts from
Morehouse College, and in 1932 Colgate
honored him with the degree of doctor
of divinity.
Following his graduation from Col
gate. Dr. Archer taught mathematics for
three years at Roger Y\ illiams Univer
sity in Nashville, Tennessee. He then
joined the Morehouse faculty, just one
year before Dr. John Hope became it-
president. For thirty-one years he was a
Warner Lawson, Bernard
Mason to Give Joint
Recital at Spelman
Spelman College has announced the
forthcoming appearance of Warner Law-
son, pianist, and Bernard Mason, violin
ist, in a joint recital to be held on Fri
day evening, January 31, in Howe Me
morial Hall. Both of these artists are
well known in musical circles through
out the country.
Mr. Lawson, son of the distinguished
pianist, Dr. R. Augustus Lawson, is one
of the great Negro pianists of the pres
ent day. His rich background of study
was gained during the period he was in
college at Fisk, Yale, and Harvard Uni
versities; and under Artur Schnabel,
famed pianist in Berlin, Germany. The
Hartford Times has written of Mr. Law-
son: “Mr. Lawson’s ideals are built upon
solid musicianship and he showed in ev
ery way the careful and skillful train
ing of his noted father, R. Augustus
Lawson. In his pianistic scope of vision
he also showed a wisdom and a power of
interpretation that added much to the
impressiveness of his delivery”.
Bernard Mason has given concerts ex
tensively during the past ten years. He
has been acclaimed by critics throughout
the country as an unusually fine and tal
ented violinist. A native of Des Moines,
Iowa, Mr. Mason began the study of the
violin under the instruction of Ada Als-
bury, one of the foremost violin teachers
of the day. After years of intensive study,
he entered Drake University as a special
student working with Arcule Sheusby,
now head of the violin department at
Northwestern University. In 1933, Mr.
Mason completed his course at the Ober-
lin Conservatory of Music, under the
guidance of Raymond Cerf, eminent Bel
gian violinist.
close friend and colleague of Dr. Hope,
and when the latter resigned from the
presidency of Morehouse College in
1931. Mr. Archer was the unanimous
choice of the Board of Trustees to be
come the fifth president of this institu
tion. In announcing the election of Mr.
Archer. Dr. Frank A. Smith, secretary
of the Board of Education of the Ameri
can Baptist Home Mission Society, said.
“We feel it a deserved promotion for one
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