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Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Statecraft & Independence Landmark

Joseph Jenkins Roberts

1809 – 1876

Liberia's first president

Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Liberia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.

Why they are here

A Virginia-born merchant who emigrated in 1829 and became the first president of Africa's first republic.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts emigrated from Petersburg, Virginia, in 1829, became a wealthy Monrovia merchant, and in 1841 the first Black governor under the American Colonization Society.

He served as Liberia's first president from 1848 to 1856, and again from 1872 to 1876. The country's main airport, the town of Robertsport and a street in Monrovia all carry his name.
Sources

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