James Aggrey

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James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey (born October 18, 1875 in Anomabu , Ghana , † July 30, 1927 in Harlem , New York City ) was a Ghanaian teacher and missionary .

Life

James Aggrey was born in Anamabu in the Gold Coast, today's Ghana, as the son of Kodwo Kwegyir, a confidante of the then chief Amonu IV in Anamabu. In June 1883, at the age of almost eight, he was baptized in a parish in the Gold Coast and took his current Christian first name, James. He went to a Methodist school where, following some sources, the teachers already noticed him as exceptional. During this time he was already receiving lessons in Greek and Latin.

In 1898, at the age of 23, because of his education, he was selected to be trained as a missionary in the United States. On July 10, 1898, Aggrey agreed and left the Gold Coast for the United States. He settled in North Carolina and attended Livingstone College. His interests at the university were diverse, including chemistry, physics, logic, economics, and politics.

In May 1902 he graduated from the university with a doctorate and received three academic prizes. Aggrey was very gifted at languages ​​and is said to have spoken not only English, French and German but also ancient and modern Greek and Latin. In November 1903 he was appointed pastor of the African Methodist Zion Church in Salisbury. In 1905 he married Rose Douglas, with whom he had four children. In the same year he began teaching at Livingstone College.

In 1912 he was awarded a doctorate in theology, followed by a doctorate in osteopathy in 1914. In the same year he took a job in a small community in North Carolina. Aggrey took up further studies at Colombia University between 1915 and 1917. At Columbia, Aggrey was interested in sociology, psychology and the Japanese language.

In 1920 he was offered by Paul Monroe to attend a research expedition to Africa to find out which measures were necessary to improve education in Africa. Aggrey accepted this offer and visited ten countries in Africa where he collected and processed data on education. In 1920, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Gold Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria were visited. In 1921 the Belgian Congo, Angola and South Africa followed. During this trip, Aggrey is said to have made a not inconsiderable impression on some later personalities and made clear to them the relevance of education. These include the young Hastings Kamuzu Banda , who later became president in Malawi , the young Nnamdi Azikiwe , who became the first president of Nigeria , and Kwame Nkrumah , who became the first president of the independent state of Ghana.

In 1924, Aggrey was appointed by the Governor of the Gold Coast Crown Colony, Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, to head Achimota College in Accra and accepted this position. He moved with his wife and children to Achimota, north of Accra, on what was then the Gold Coast. In May 1927 he returned to his adopted home, the USA, but was already taken to hospital in July 1927. He died on July 30, 1927 in the hospital in Harlem.

Works

  • The eagle that didn't want to fly. Peter Hammer Verlag, Wuppertal 1998, ISBN 3-87294-430-4 .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Aggrey, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aggrey, James Emman Kwegyir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ghanaian intellectual
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Anomabu (Ghana)
DATE OF DEATH July 30, 1927
Place of death Harlem , New York City