Hale Giddings Parker

Name
Hale Giddings Parker
Description
Hale Giddings Parker was among the first Black students to attend Washington University in St. Louis. An Ohio native and 1873 graduate of Oberlin College, Parker entered the university’s law school in the late 1870s. Although he completed his coursework, he was denied a law degree after reportedly scoring one point below the passing mark on his final exam. Despite this setback, Parker went on to a distinguished legal and civic career across the Midwest. He served as alternate commissioner-at-large for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he confronted organizers over the exclusion of African American exhibits. In 1916, Parker’s former classmate David Castleman Webb led an effort to secure him an honorary law degree, but Chancellor Frederick Hall refused, further erasing his legacy within the university’s history.
Bio
Hale Giddings Parker was among the first Black students to attend Washington University in St. Louis. An Ohio native and 1873 graduate of Oberlin College, Parker entered the university’s law school in the late 1870s. Although he completed his coursework, he was denied a law degree after reportedly scoring one point below the passing mark on his final exam. Despite this setback, Parker went on to a distinguished legal and civic career across the Midwest. He served as alternate commissioner-at-large for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he confronted organizers over the exclusion of African American exhibits. In 1916, Parker’s former classmate David Castleman Webb led an effort to secure him an honorary law degree, but Chancellor Frederick Hall refused, further erasing his legacy within the university’s history.