"John A.Lankford" (December 4,1874-July 2,1946)

Was an American architect.He was the first licensed African American architect in Virginia in 1922 ad the District of Columbia in 1924.John had been regarded as the "dean of black architecture."


He was born on a farm near Potosi,Missouri.He attended Lincoln Institute and  Tuskegee Institute.He studied architectural and mechanical drawing from the International Correspondence School.He earned a bachelor of science from Shaw University in 1898.John earned  master of science degrees from Morris Brown College and  Wilberforce University.


John married Charlotte Josephine Upshaw in 1901.She was the granddaughter of  Henry Mcneal Turner,a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal church.


In 1902,he moved to Washington,D.C. to finish the design of the True Reformer Building.John was appointed supervising architect for the African Methodist Episcopal denomination.He organized the National Negro Business League chapter in Washington,D.C. in 1905.His Southern Aid Society building in Richmond, Virginia is considered the "first exclusively African American in the country,being the result of a collaboration between a black patron,architect,and contractor.


John lived and worked at 1448 Q Street,NW.,in Washington.
John died in Washington,D.C. and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland,Maryland.


Buildings he designed include:


Arnett Hall,Wilberforce University.
Big Bethel African Methodist  Episcopal Church,Columbia,South Carolina.
Chapelle Administration Building at Allen University,which is a National Historic Landmark.


Haven African Methodist Episcopal Church,Norfolk Virginia.
Soouthern Aid Society Building built in 1908,stood at 527 N.2nd Street,Richmond Virginia.


True Reformer Building in Washington,D.C.