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==Early life and education==
Davis said he was born in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 1877, the third child of Louis P. H. Davis and Henrietta (née Stewart) Davis.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fletcher |first=Marvin E. |title=America's First Black General: Benjamin O. Davis Sr., 1880–1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5YQAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA6 |location=Lawrence
Davis attended [[M Street High School]] in Washington, where he played baseball and football, and was captain of the football team.{{sfn|Fletcher|page=10}} He also participated in the cadet program, in which city high schools organized military units that competed against each other in marksmanship, drill and ceremony, and other soldier skills.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 23, 1898 |title=They Enter Active Life: A Host Of Colored Graduates Bid Farewell To School Days |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109204418/active/ |work=[[The Washington Times|The Times]] |location=Washington, DC |page=8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="Colored">{{cite news |date=October 20, 1897 |title=The Colored Cadets: Roster of Officers For Ensuing Year Announced Yesterday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109203947/cadets/ |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |location=Washington, DC |page=7 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Davis attained the rank of captain as commander of Cadet Company B.<ref name="Colored"/>{{efn|Some later sources incorrectly indicate Davis was a cadet major,<ref>{{cite news |date=March 22, 1901 |title=Colored Soldier Rises to Second Lieutenancy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121464902/rises/ |work=[[The San Francisco Call]] |location=San Francisco
==Early career==
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In June 1898, Captain [[Jesse M. Lee]] of the 9th United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment, an African American unit raised for the [[Spanish–American War]], recruited Davis and considered him for an officer's commission.{{sfn|Jones|page=33}} Davis passed the required physical exam, but Lee withdrew his offer because of Davis's youth.{{sfn|Jones|page=33}} He subsequently offered Davis a [[Non-commissioned_officer#United_States|non-commissioned officer]]'s appointment, which Davis rejected.{{sfn|Jones|page=33}} Captain Robertson Palmer, a white officer in the African American 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, subsequently offered Davis a commission if Davis helped him recruit the sixty soldiers necessary to man the company Palmer was slated to command.{{sfn|Jones|page=33}} Palmer and Davis quickly recruited their company, and on July 13, 1898, Davis was commissioned as a [[First lieutenant (United States)|first lieutenant]] in the 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry's Company G.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 18, 1898 |title=Filling Vacancies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121353305/vacancies/ |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |location=Washington, DC |page=11 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He was soon appointed as his battalion's [[Adjutant#United States|adjutant]], in addition to duty as officer in charge of prisoners awaiting court-martial, and was stationed at [[Fort Thomas, Kentucky]], and [[Chickamauga Park, Georgia]], from October 1898 until the regiment was disbanded in March 1899.<ref name="Ranks"/>
Davis was mustered out of the [[United States Volunteers]] on March 6, 1899.<ref name="Ranks"/> His parents hoped he would attend college, but on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a [[Private (United States)|private]] in Troop I, [[9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|9th Cavalry Regiment]].<ref name="Ranks"/> Assigned to [[Fort Duchesne, Utah]], he served first as the troop's clerk and later as the 3rd Squadron's [[Sergeant major (United States)|sergeant major]].<ref name="Ranks"/> Davis later recounted that among his reading was ''Three Roads to a Commission in the U.S. Army'' by [[William P. Burnham]], which included details on being commissioned from the ranks, so he continued to pursue his ambition of becoming a [[regular army]] officer.{{sfn|Jones|pages=40–41}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=William P. |author-link=William P. Burnham |date=1893 |title=Three Roads to a Commission in the U.S. Army |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9REAAAAIAAJ |location=New York
In the spring of 1901, Troop I was posted overseas to serve in the [[Philippine–American War]].<ref name="Ranks"/> In August 1901, Davis assumed officer's duties when he was assigned to Troop F, 10th Cavalry.{{sfn|Jones|page=56}} Davis spent a year on the island of [[Panay]] as his new regiment fought Filipino insurgents.{{sfn|Jones|page=56}} In September 1901, Troop F was split into separate detachments, with Davis being placed in charge of approximately 25 men who garrisoned the town of [[Lambunao]].{{sfn|Jones|pages=56–57}} While in the Philippines, Davis demonstrated an innate ability to learn foreign languages by becoming fluent in both Spanish and the local [[Visayans|Visayan]] language.{{sfn|Jones|page=57}}{{efn|Davis continued to study languages and became fluent in French and Italian.<ref name="Irwin">{{cite news |last=Irwin |first=Virginia |date=August 24, 1948 |title=50 Years' Honorable Service in Army |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122260155/50years/ |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |location=St. Louis, MO |page=29 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>}} He received an "excellent" rating on his first officer evaluation report, and his regimental commander, Colonel [[Samuel Whiteside]], later told Davis that several of the regiment's white officers thought so highly of him that they attempted to have him assigned to their units.{{sfn|Jones|page=57}} While Davis was not known for developing personal or emotional bonds with his soldiers, they still regarded him highly, with most describing him as stern with respect to military discipline, but well liked.{{sfn|Jones|page=57}}
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After completing his Wilberforce assignment, Davis served briefly with the 9th Cavalry until November 1909, when he was posted as U.S. [[military attaché]] in [[Liberia]].{{sfn|Jones|page=92}} Recommended for the post by U.S. ambassador [[Ernest A. Lyon]], on whom Davis had previously made a favorable impression, in Liberia Davis was responsible for training [[Armed Forces of Liberia|Liberia's military forces]] as part of a larger U.S. effort to prevent invasion by the European powers during the period of African colonization.{{sfn|Jones|pages=92–93}} Davis's judgment was that Liberia's military was inept, and that it lacked a coherent command and control structure.{{sfn|Jones|page=96}} Among the events he witnessed was a mutiny in which soldiers threatened Liberia's Secretary of War over nonpayment of wages.{{sfn|Jones|pages=96–97}} He also observed Liberia's military employ unconventional methods, including subduing a rebellious tribe by starving it into submission.{{sfn|Jones|pages=96–97}} Davis suggested reorganizing Liberia's military under an American cadre of two officers and three noncommissioned officers.{{sfn|Jones|page=97}} The proposal was not accepted, but Liberia's government subsequently offered Davis an appointment in their military.{{sfn|Jones|page=97}} Davis declined after obtaining a U.S. Department of War opinion that he could not constitutionally serve both countries.{{sfn|Jones|page=97}}
The country's climate and the food and water that were then available in Liberia caused Davis to become ill, and in 1911 he requested reassignment.{{sfn|Jones|page=97}} He returned to the United States in November 1911, and in January 1912 was assigned to Troop I, 9th Cavalry, stationed at [[Fort D.A. Russell (Wyoming)|Fort D.
In February 1915, Davis was again assigned to Wilberforce College as professor of military science and tactics, and he was promoted to [[Captain (United States)|captain]] in December 1915.{{sfn|Jones|page=100}} In early 1917, Davis requested reassignment to a troop unit, arguing that the circumstances at the college, chiefly friction between its president and him over issues including student discipline, left him unable to perform his duties effectively.{{sfn|Jones|
==Later career==
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In 1924, Davis was posted to duty as senior instructor with 2nd Battalion, [[372nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|372nd Infantry Regiment]], an African American unit of the [[Ohio National Guard]], in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]].{{sfn|Jones|page=137}} As senior instructor, Davis supervised the development of plans for individual and collective training and oversaw the battalion's officers and noncommissioned officers as they provided instruction to the soldiers of their companies.{{sfn|Jones|page=138}} In September 1929, Davis returned to Wilberforce College as professor of military science and tactics and commander of the school's ROTC program.{{sfn|Jones|page=142}} In 1930, he was promoted to [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]].{{sfn|Jones|page=143}} In 1931, Davis was again assigned to Tuskegee Institute as professor of military science and tactics and commander of the ROTC program.{{sfn|Jones|page=150}} During the summer months of 1930 to 1933, Davis escorted pilgrimages of black World War I Gold Star mothers and widows to the burial places of their loved ones in Europe.{{sfn|Jones|page=144}} His work on this effort was recognized with letters of commendation from the Secretary of War and the army's Quartermaster General.{{sfn|Jones|page=150}}
In April 1938, Davis was assigned as senior instructor of the [[369th Infantry Regiment (United States)|369th Regiment]] a unit of the [[New York National Guard]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=April 27, 1938 |title=Negro Instructor Named |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121560339/instructor/ |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |location=Buffalo, NY |page=32 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Davis served in this assignment only briefly, because in May, Governor [[Herbert H. Lehman]] commissioned him as a colonel in the National Guard and appointed him to command the regiment.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Negro Press]] |date=May 5, 1938 |title=Col. Benjamin O. Davis to Command 369th Infantry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121560793/command/ |work=California Eagle |location=Los Angeles
==General officer==
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In June 1941, General [[George C. Marshall]], the army's chief of staff, inquired whether Davis was willing to continue serving beyond his mandatory retirement date in July.{{sfn|Jones|page=185}} Marshall's plan was for Davis to serve as an assistant to the army's [[Office of the Inspector General|inspector general]], with specific responsibility for identifying and resolving concerns arising from the expanded use of segregated black units.{{sfn|Jones|page=185}} Davis accepted, retired on July 31, and was recalled to active duty on August 1.{{sfn|Jones|page=185}} From 1941 to 1944, Davis conducted inspection tours of African American units throughout the army, including visits to the European theater of the war from September to November 1942 and July to November 1944.{{sfn|Jones|pages=187–190}} While serving in the Office of the Inspector General, Davis also served on the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies, where he made recommendations on issues including how many black troops would be enlisted, how many would be trained as officers, and how black units would be employed.{{sfn|Jones|pages=210–211}} In mid-1943, he was assigned as military aide to both outgoing President [[Edwin Barclay]] and President-elect [[William Tubman]] during a Liberian state visit to the United States.{{sfn|Jones|page=224}}
On November 10, 1944, Davis was reassigned as special assistant to Lieutenant General [[John C. H. Lee]], commander of Communications Zone, European Theater of Operations.{{sfn|Jones|page=231}} While serving in the European Theater of Operations, Davis continued his work to resolve issues related to the employment of black units, including advocating for the greater use of black soldiers as replacement troops for units in combat.{{sfn|Jones|page=231}} After serving in the European Theater of Operations for more than a year, in November 1945 Davis returned to Washington, D.C.<ref name="Duties">{{cite news |date=February 2, 1946 |title=Gen. Davis Assumes Washington Duties After 45-Day Absence |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121408115/duties/ |work=[[The New York Age]] |location=New York
==Retirement and death==
On July 20, 1948, Davis retired in a [[White House]] ceremony presided over by President [[Harry S. Truman]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[United Press]] |date=July 21, 1948 |title=Army's Only Negro General Retires |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121399559/retires/ |work=Holdenville Daily News |location=Holdenville, OK |page=8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued [[Executive Order 9981]] which abolished racial discrimination in the United States armed forces.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=July 27, 1948 |title=Truman Issues Executive Order For Anti-Discrimination In Armed Forces |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121399235/order/ |work=The Kane Republican |location=Kane, PA |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In retirement, Davis resided in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Monuments">{{cite news |date=July 9, 1953 |title=Eisenhower Names 8 members Of Battle Monuments Group |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121398685/monuments/ |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |location=Washington, DC |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> From July 1953 to June 1961, he served as a member of the [[American Battle Monuments Commission]].<ref name="Monuments"/><ref>{{cite news |agency=National Negro Press Association |date=September 22, 1961 |title=Gen. Davis Resigns Monuments Position |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121398872/resigns/ |work=Alabama Tribune |location=Montgomery
Davis later moved to [[Chicago]], where he resided with his daughter Elnora.<ref name="Deaths">{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=November 28, 1970 |title=Deaths: Benjamin O. Davis, 1st Black General Of American Army |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121398292/deaths/ |work=[[Miami Herald]] |location=Miami, FL |page=11–AW |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Davis died at [[Naval Station Great Lakes|Great Lakes Naval Hospital]] on November 26, 1970.<ref name="Deaths"/> He was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]], Section 2, Grave E-478-B.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgVkYXZpcxIIYmVuamFtaW4aAW8-/ |title=Burial Detail: Davis, Benjamin O. |website=Arlington National Cemetery |publisher=Office of Army Cemeteries |location=Arlington, VA |access-date=March 22, 2023}}</ref>
==Race relations and desegregation==
Some historians, including Russell Weigley, regard Davis as a significant figure not for his personal accomplishments, since the army often relegated him to assignments considered less than prestigious, but because his prominence represented an indicator of forward movement for African Americans with respect to equality and desegregation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weigley |first=Russell F. |editor-last=Garraty |editor-first=John A. |date=1974 |title=Encyclopedia of American Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSGoAAAAIAAJ |location=New York
Historian Jeffrey L. Jones assessed Davis's legacy with respect to race relations as an individual willing to accept a behind the scenes role that enabled him to indirectly advocate for greater equality in the military and society as a whole.{{sfn|Jones|pages=258–259}} Exploited by U.S. military and political leaders during World War II, Davis was aware of the political considerations that helped him ascend to the general officer ranks, but accepted the exploitation because he saw an opportunity to make progress in the country's treatment of black people.{{sfn|Jones|pages=258–259}} Once the war ended, Davis was no longer needed, so he was pushed into retirement.{{sfn|Jones|pages=258–259}}
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==Legacy==
In 1943, Davis was awarded the [[honorary degree]] of [[Legum Doctor|LL.D.]] from [[Atlanta University]].<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-last=Wilkins |editor-first=Roy |editor-link=Roy Wilkins |date=August 1943 |title=The American Negro in College, 1942–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA237 |magazine=The Crisis |location=New York
In 1993, Davis was inducted into the [[Fort Leavenworth]] Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16040coll5/id/18 |title=Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. |date=1993 |website=Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame |publisher=Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Digital Library |location=Fort Leavenworth, KS}}</ref> The hall was created in 1969 and recognizes outstanding soldiers who were stationed at Fort Leavenworth and contributed significantly to the army's history, heritage and traditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/cace/CARL/History/hofinvent.pdf |title=Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame Annual Files: Organizational History |website=usacac.army.mil |publisher=U.S. Army Combined Arms Center |location=Fort Leavenworth, KS |access-date=March 23, 2023 |page=1}}</ref> In 1997, the [[U.S. Postal Service]] issued a 32-cent stamp honoring Davis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stamp Series |publisher=United States Postal Service |url=http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series |access-date=September 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810160707/http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series |archive-date=August 10, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref>
In 2003, the [[Ohio Historical Society]] emplaced a marker at [[Wilberforce University]] to commemorate Davis's career.<ref name="HMdb">{{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=14054 |title=Historical Marker Database: Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. |date=2006 |website=Wilberforce in Greene County, Ohio
Benjamin O. Davis [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]] Post 311 in [[Richton Park, Illinois]], is named for both the senior and junior Davises.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vfwpost311.com/ |title=Benjamin O. Davis Post 311: Who We Are |last=Spurlock |first=Aretha |date=2015 |website=VFW Post 311.com |publisher=Benjamin O. Davis VFW Post 311 |location=Richton Park, IL |access-date=April 1, 2023}}</ref>
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==Personal life==
Davis married Elnora Dickerson in 1902.<ref name="Finkelman">{{cite book |editor-last=Finkelman |editor-first=Paul |date=2009 |title=Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gbQHxb_P0QC&pg=RA1-PA17 |location=New York
In 1919 Davis married Sarah "Sadie" Overton, an English professor at Wilberforce University.<ref name=Coffman>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlhREEJRzAC&pg=PA92 |pages=92–93 |last=Coffman |first=Edward M. |title=The Regulars: The American Army, 1898–1941 |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0674024021}}</ref> They were married until her death in 1966.<ref name=Silbermann>{{cite web |url=http://airandspace.si.edu/research/arch/findaids/pdf/Davis_Finding_Aid.pdf |title=Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Collection |pages=1–2 |work=National Air and Space Archives |last=Silbermann |first=Paul |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |year=2002 |access-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424174904/http://airandspace.si.edu/research/arch/findaids/pdf/Davis_Finding_Aid.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/davis.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629163829/http://www.army.mil/cmh/topics/afam/davis.htm |archive-date=2007-06-29 |title=Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. – The First African American General Officer in the Regular Army and in the U.S. Armed Forces |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]]}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Kranz |editor-first1=Rachel |editor-last2=Koslow |editor-first2=Philip |date=2021 |title=Biographical Dictionary of African Americans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNyPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |location=New York
* {{cite book |last=Lee |first=Ulysses |title=The Employment of Negro Troops |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/011/11-4/CMH_Pub_11-4-1.pdf |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |year=1966 |version=reprints 1986, 1990, 2001}}
{{refend}}
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