Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American ever elected to the United States Senate. He represented the state of Mississippi from February 1870 to March 1871.
Revels resigned from the Senate after a year to accept the presidency of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, located in Claiborne County, Mississippi. He also served as an instructor in philosophy. This position at the historically black Alcorn allowed Revels to directly participate in the intellectual enrichment of African Americans—a cause for which he had fought while serving in the Senate.
Revels died on January 16, 1901, in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/hiram-r-revels-9456129#synopsis
