Well known in California Howard P. Grant was a man of many 'firsts.' He was the first black graduate of University of California Berkeley College of Engineering, the first black engineer of San Francisco, as well as the first black member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

George Biddle Kelley attended Cornell University from 1905-1908, earning a degree in Civil Engineering. He was a founding member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, as well as the fraternity’s first president. The Alpha Phi Alpha is the oldest black Greek fraternal organization!