Born in Macon,Georgia,he was the son of James M.Nabrit,a Baptist minister and teacher,and Augusta G.West.He was one of eight children,all of whom received a college education;his brother James became president of Howard University.Samuel attended schools in Macon and received his bachelor's degree biology from Morehouse College in 1925.Samuel was hired as an instructor in Zoology at Morehouse the same year and taught there until 1931;he was made professor of biology in 1928,the same year he married Constance Crocker.At the same time he attended Brown University,where he was awarded an M.S. in 1928 and a PH.D in biology in 1932.He was the first African American to be awarded a PH.D.at Brown and the first Morehouse graduate to receive a doctorate.He later became Brown University's first trustee,serving between 1967 & 1972.His research doctoral was conducted at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,where he studied the ability of fish to to regenerate their fins after injury.He continued his research after becoming chairman of the biology department at Atlanta University in 1932,and the scientific papers he published during this period remained influential in the field until well into the 80s.Samuel became dean of the graduate school of arts and sciences at Atlanta in 1947,where he stayed until 1955,when he became the second president f Texas Southern University.Besides being a committed researcher Samuel was also a keen sportsman,playing baseball & football while he was at college,but excelling at the game bridge,which he played regularly in competitions until the 1940s.From his earliest days as a researcher Samuel was committed to encouraging more African American to stay on at College and pursue advanced research.After moving to Texas,Samuel was involved in the Upward Bound Program,a scheme to encourage scholarship winners to stay in college beyond their first year.In his eleven years at Texas Southern University Samuel attracted a great deal of outside funding and more than doubled the enrollment of African American students.As university president he also supported students who had been expelled from other colleges to move to Texas Southern.At the same time he worked with the protesters to prevent violence and managed to persuade white local businessmen and politicians that he was doing all he could to control the protests.Samuel was not afraid of confrontation,and was respected for his strong sense integrity.He is reputed to have fired the coach of Texas Southerner's acclaimed track team when he learned that students were being recruited for their sporting prowess alone.When Samuel left Texas Southern to join the Atomic Energy Commission in 1966 he was involved in a dispute with the university's board of regents over the amount of influence they had on university policy.Samuel dedicated his life to public service,sitting on many committees and boards,including a period as president of the Association of Colleges & Secondary Schools and various governments committees.From 1956 until 1962 he served on President Eisenhower's National Science Board and was then selected by President Kennedy to be the U.S. representatives to Niger.In 1966 President Johnson asked him to served on the Atomic Energy Commission and he became the first African American to do so.In 1967 he became director of the Southern Fellowships Fund,an organization he founded to support and mentor African American students studying or doctorates.He continued to work for the fund until his retirement in 1981.In 1985 Brow University established the Nabrit Fellowship to assist graduate students from minority groups and in 1999 Samuel was once again was honored by Brown University with a portrait hanging in Sayles Hall,alongside portraits of the University's most distinguished faculty.Samuel died of a heart attack following a bout of pheumonia.
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