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Robert Charles Bates

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Robert Charles Bates
BornJanuary 27, 1869
Kingsville, Richland County, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 2, 1950(1950-05-02) (aged 81)
Spencer, Tioga County, New York, U.S.
Other namesR. Charles Bates,
Robert C. Bates
EducationClaflin University (MA)
Occupation(s)Architect, educator
Known forDesign of early campus buildings at Claflin University, possibly the first Black teacher of architecture at a HBU, possibly the first African-American architecture textbook author
SpouseMaybelle Dean
Children5

Robert Charles Bates (January 27, 1869 – May 2, 1950),[1] commonly known as R. Charles Bates, was an American architect, educator, and textbook author.[2][3] He was an African American architect and helped design and build many of the Claflin University campus buildings, a historically black university (HBU) in South Carolina.[2][4][5] He is thought to the first Black teacher of architecture at a HBU; and the first African American author of an architecture textbook.[6][7]

Early life and family

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Robert Charles Bates was born on January 27, 1869, in Kingsville (or Kingville), a rural community outside of the city of Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina.[1] Many of the details of his life have conflicting records. Some records show his birth as c. 1872, in Columbia, South Carolina.[8]

It is thought that he took a correspondence course in mechanical drawing (possibly from Scranton Correspondence School in Scranton, Pennsylvania).[8] Bates studied architecture and engineering under Thomas William Silloway of Boston, from 1885 to 1893.[9] He attended Claflin University's Normal School (which was connected to the University of South Carolina at the time) to become a teacher, and graduated with a MA degree in 1888.[1][8][10][11][9]

Bates married Maybelle Dean from Elmira, New York, and together they had five children.[1][12]

Career

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He was appointed in 1888 as a professor at Claflin University, and as the superintendent of manual training in carpentry, drafting, and architecture (which included various titles held), and his selection for the role had been determined by the Freedmen's Aid Society and the Southern Education Society.[8][10][9] By fall of 1890, Bates was teaching architectural drawing at Claflin, and is believed to be the first Black teacher of architecture at a HBU.[8][13][7] Two years later he published a textbook based on his class lectures, it may be the first architecture book authored by an African American.[8][6]

In 1895 until 1896, he travelled for one year and studied in technical schools across Europe.[9]

Bates moved to Upstate New York in order to start the manual training department and teach mechanical drawing at Elmira Reformatory, from 1897 to 1900.[1][8] Followed by teaching vocational trade at the Tome School for Boys (later Jacob Tome Institute) in Port Deposit, Maryland.[8][14][9] He remained at Tome School until his retirement in 1940. Bates died on May 2, 1950, in a nursing home in Spencer, New York.[1][15]

Bates' profile was included in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004) by Dreck Spurlock Wilson. However many of the biographical details of Bate's life in Wilson's book were unknown or uncertain at the time of publishing, including his circumstances in death.[8]

Publications

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  • Bates, R. Charles (1892). The Elementary Principles of Architecture and Building. Boston, Massachusetts: Press of Geo. H. Ellis.

Works

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  • T. Willard Lewis Chapel (1890) at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina[8][16]
  • Fisk Building (main building, 1899) the north and south towers at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina (destroyed by a fire in 1913)[8][2][17][18]
  • Fisk Building (main building, 1900) classroom annex at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina (destroyed by a fire in 1913)[8]
  • John F. Slater Manual training building at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Professor Bates Dies in Spencer". The Ithaca Journal. 1950-05-02. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-05-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Vintage Orangeburg/Day 34: Claflin established by state charter to assist freed slaves". The Times and Democrat. December 10, 2014. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  3. ^ Wilkins, Craig (2016-03-10). Diversity Among Architects: From Margin to Center. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-317-47927-7.
  4. ^ "Claflin University (1869- )". BlackPast.org. 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  5. ^ "Exhibition celebrates Claflin's 125th anniversary". The Times and Democrat. 1994-09-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  6. ^ a b Bell, Carla Jackson (2014-08-01). Space Unveiled: Invisible Cultures in the Design Studio. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-317-65911-2.
  7. ^ a b Weiss, Ellen (2012-01-01). Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington. NewSouth Books. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-1-58838-248-1.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). "Robert Charles Bates". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 38–40. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Robert Charles Bates, M.A.". Tome School for Boys. Tome School For Boys. 1912. p. 9.
  10. ^ a b Catalogue of Claflin College 1889–1890. Charleston, South Carolina: Walker Evans & Cogswell Co. Printers. 1890. pp. 10, 36–37 – via Annual catalog of Claflin College: (incorporated Claflin University) and announcements 1889/90–1897/98, HathiTrust.
  11. ^ Neufeld, Rob (2018-02-25). "History of Claflin University". Asheville Citizen-Times. Archived from the original on 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  12. ^ "Samuel Dean of Horseheads Is Summoned". Elmira Star-Gazette. 1930-03-27. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-05-21 – via Newspaper.com.
  13. ^ Suggs, Ernie. "A dozen things you need to know about Claflin University". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  14. ^ "Succeeds Dr. F. R. Lane". The Baltimore Sun. 1908-12-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  15. ^ "Deaths Elsewhere: Prof. Robert Charles Bates". Elmira Star-Gazette. 1950-05-03. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-05-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Tisdale, Danica C.; Glover, Vivian (2017). "Notable Alumni" (PDF). Claflin University. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Brooks, F. Erik; Starks, Glenn L. (2011-09-30). Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-313-39415-7.
  18. ^ Hill, Lauritza Salley (2013). African Americans of Orangeburg County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7385-9880-2.
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