Merl R. Eppse
{{Short description|American historian (1893–1967)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Merl Raymond Eppse
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| birth_date = 1893
| birth_place = Greenville, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|12|27|1893||}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| education = Drake University (BA)
Teachers College, Columbia University (MA)
| employer = Tennessee State University
| occupation = Historian
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| spouse = Ruth D. Clemmons
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}}
Merl Raymond Eppse (1893 – December 27, 1967) was an American historian, and a pioneer of Black studies.{{Citation |last=Knott |first=Cheryl |title=A Race Against Obscurity: Merl R. Eppse and The Negro, Too, in American History |date=2016-01-01 |work=Writing History from the Margins |pages=26–42 |url=http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85170166971&partnerID=8YFLogxK |access-date=2024-05-31 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-1-138-67909-2}} He was a history professor at Tennessee State University for three decades, and the author of several books.
Early life
Merl Raymond Eppse was born in 1893 in Greenville, Ohio.[https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/forms/EPPSE_MERL_RAYMOND_PAPERS_1927-1961.pdf Merl Raymond Eppse Papers, 1927-1961]. Tennessee State Library and Archives. He was Black, and the son of Henrietta and Hiram R. Eppse. Eppse attended public schools in Greenville, Ohio and graduated from the Palestine High School in Palestine, Ohio.
He graduated from Drake University in 1927, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in History. Eppse earned a master's degree from the Teachers College, Columbia University in 1935.
Career
Eppse was the dean of Swift Memorial College in Rogersville, Tennessee from 1927 to 1928. In 1928, he became a professor of history and geography at Tennessee State University.{{cite news |title=Author To Speak Today In Honor Of History Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/318059954/?terms=%22Merl%2BR.%2BEppse%22 |work=Tampa Bay Times |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |date=February 9, 1961|page=27|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} He later became the department chair. Eppse was the president of the Tennessee Negro Education Association from 1948 to 1949, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Wilberforce University in 1953. He retired from TSU in 1960.
Eppse founded the National Publication Company in Nashville, Tennessee, to publish his books. He was one of the first educators to write an American history textbook that included the history of African Americans.{{cite journal |url= https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED296941 |title=Merl R. Eppse and Studies of Blacks in American History Textbooks. |first=Murry R. |last= Nelson |author-link=Murry R. Nelson |date= 9 April 1988 }}
Personal life, death and legacy
Eppse married Ruth D. Clemmons. He moved to Los Angeles for his retirement in 1962.
Eppse died on December 27, 1967, in Los Angeles, California. Penn State professor Murry R. Nelson presented a paper on Eppse in 1988.Merl R. Eppse and Studies of Blacks in American History Textbooks, pdf file The Tennessee State Library and Archives has a collection of his papers.
Selected works
- {{cite book |last1=Eppse |first1=Merl R. |title=A Guide to the Study of the Negro in American History |date=1937 |publisher=National education publishing co. |location=Nashville, Tennessee|oclc=31562998}}
- {{cite book |last1=Eppse |first1=Merl R. |title=The Negro, Too, in American History |date=1938 |publisher=National Educational Pub. Co. |location=Chicago|oclc=17020487}}
- {{cite book |last1=Eppse |first1=Merl R. |title=An Elementary History of America: Including the Contributions of the Negro Race |date=1953 |publisher=National Publication Co. |location=Nashville, Tennessee|oclc=7588467}}
References
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Category:20th-century American historians
Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:20th-century African-American writers
Category:African-American historians
Category:African-American male writers
Category:American male non-fiction writers
Category:Black studies scholars
Category:Drake University alumni
Category:Historians from California
Category:People from Greenville, Ohio
Category:Academics from Los Angeles