Dr. Edward A. Bouchet Fund

New Haven native Dr. Edward A. Bouchet was a physicist and educator. At the time he completed his dissertation at Yale in 1876, he was the first Black person in the country to earn a doctorate from an American university and just the sixth American to earn a Ph.D. in physics. His academic achievements were recognized with his induction into Phi Beta Kappa. After graduate school, he taught chemistry and physics for 26 years at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, one of the few academically rigorous schools for African Americans in the country. Bouchet continued to teach and work in education for most of his life.  

Bouchet’s illustrious academic career began at Hopkins School, where he was valedictorian of the class of 1870. In honor of Bouchet, his intellectual drive and his legacy of achievements, Hopkins School has established a charitable fund in his name to provide experiential learning opportunities for New Haven students through impactful community programs.

The fund was created by Hopkins School in partnership with The Foundation’s Vineyard Project in New Haven.

“Dr. Bouchet is one of the alums that Hopkins is most proud to be associated with,” says Hopkins Director of Community Engagement Angela Wardlaw, who spearheaded the fund’s establishment. “In a real sincere way, we want to be actively involved in the community that we are a part of. Whether it’s the arts, or technology, or something else, we want kids in the community to have the opportunity to pursue something that they are interested in that ordinarily would not be available to them.”