Source: National Archives & Historic Records of United States
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 1 views

Joseph Jenkins Roberts 🇺🇸

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (Known as "J.J. Roberts")
First President of Liberia, Merchant, Statesman, Founder of Liberia College
Born 1809-03-15 🇺🇸 Norfolk, United States
Passed Away 1876-02-24 Monrovia, Liberia
Lifespan 66 years old
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"Liberia is an asylum from deep oppression, a beacon on this dark continent where freedom may flourish."

Archival Overview

First and seventh President of the Republic of Liberia who proclaimed Liberian independence on July 26, 1847, and secured international recognition for Africa's first modern republic.

Biographical Record

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was born free on March 15, 1809, in Norfolk, Virginia. Emigrating to Liberia in 1829 with his mother and brothers under the auspices of the American Colonization Society, he built a prosperous merchant trading firm exporting coffee, camwood, and palm oil.

Appointed Liberia's first non-white Governor in 1841, Roberts guided the commonwealth to full sovereignty. On July 26, 1847, he signed the Liberian Declaration of Independence and was inaugurated as its first constitutional President. He travelled to Europe, securing diplomatic recognition from Britain, France, and Prussia. Later serving as first president of Liberia College (1862) and re-elected President of Liberia in 1871, he was the primary architect of the Liberian state.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Palm Grove Cemetery
Monrovia, Liberia
GPS: 6.3056, -10.8033
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