Bullock, Matthew Washington, 1881-1972

Dates

• Existence: 1881 - 1972

Biography

Matthew Washington Bullock was born Sept. 11, 1881, in Dabney, North Carolina. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1904, and Harvard Law School in 1907. While at Dartmouth he was on the varsity football and track team, sang in the Glee Club and was a member of the Aegis Board, the Palaeopitus and the Executive Class Day Committee. From 1908-1912 he taught social sciences at Morehouse College, Atlanta. During his time at Morehouse he was also the head football coach. From 1912-1915 he practiced law in Atlanta after which he returned to academia, becoming the Dean of the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, a position he held until 1917. During World War I he did war work with the Y.M.C.A. in France and the U.S. From 1919-1921 he was the Executive Secretary of the Boston Urban League and in 1921, returned to practicing law in Boston. In 1927, he combined law practice with work on the Massachusetts Parole Board, to which he was first appointed by Governor Alvin T. Fuller. When the term expired he was not reappointed by Governor James Curley, but acted as assistant to the Hon. Arthur Lyman, commissioner of corrections, for six years. In 1943, Governor Saltonstall persuaded Bullock to serve again on the Parole Board, which he did until his retirement. In 1945, Bullock was asked by Secretary of the Navy James Forestal to join a commission investigating condition between African American and white enlisted men in the Pacific area. In 1971, Matthew Bullock received an honorary Doctors of Law degree from Dartmouth College. He died on December 17, 1972 at the age of 91.

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