Boulé History
The Boulés were founded by Henry McKee Minton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1904. Those who helped him establish the Boules were Robert J. Abele, Edwin C. Howard, Eugene T. Hinson, Algernon B. Jackson, and Richard J. Warrick. Today the Boules are currently the wealthiest and oldest fraternity and they have over 5,000 members and over 120 chapters in the West Indies and United States.
Beta Tau Boulé History
Beta Tau Boulé was founded on June 24, 1983 in New Haven, Connecticut. The idea came from a joint chartering ceremony with the Beta Sigma of Springfield, Massachusetts. Three years later Beta Tau Boulé created the Edward A. Bouchet
Outstanding Achievement Award. It was named after Edward Bouchet, who was the first African American to graduate from Yale University in 1874. The $1,000 scholarship award is annually presented to selected graduating high school seniors within the New Haven area. Beta Tau Boulé also has presented medals to Black scientists who are well-regarded as pioneers in the research of science.
Edward A. Bouchet
Edward Alexander Bouchet was born in 1852 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a very bright student and excelled in school very early on in his life. By the time he graduated Hopkins Grammar School in 1870 he was the valedictorian of his class. The next year he started his undergraduate studies at Yale University. By 1874 he made history by becoming the first African American to graduate from Yale University. 2 years later he made history again by being the first African American in the United States to graduate with a doctorates degree in Physics. Although Edward was a very intelligent man and had the qualification for higher job positions, he could not find a job in higher education because he was African America. Although he was never able to teach at an advanced level one of his inspirations was to pave the way for other African Americans to follow his lead in the field of science and achieve excellence while doing so. Today his scholarship program takes pride in fulfilling the dream Bouchet had for his people.
