Blanche Bruce

Blanche Kelso Bruce (March 1, 1841 – March 17, 1898) was the first African American to serve a full term in the United States Senate.

Life and career

Bruce was born into slavery near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia. He traveled to Ohio at the start of the Civil War and attended Oberlin College.

He later became a successful farmer in Mississippi. He represented Mississippi as a Republican U.S. Senator from 1875 to 1881. In 1881, Bruce was appointed by President James Garfield to the office of Register of the Treasury, making Bruce was the first African American to be represented on U.S. currency through his signature.

He then served as recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia from 1891 to 1893. He was again appointed Register of the Treasury in 1897, a position he held until his death in 1898.

External links

• Blanche Bruce via Biographical Directory of the United States Congress