Robert R. Taylor Day

Robert Robinson Taylor (1892) MIT’s first Black graduate and the first trained Black architect in the US, was invited back to the MIT campus in 1911 to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Institute’s 1861 charter.

The celebration, and Taylor’s address, was on April 10, 1911 which coincided with the spring-time submission of the North Carolina native’s extraordinary thesis, A Soldiers’ Home, almost exactly two decades before. At the heart of his career between the two dates was Taylor’s foundational work at Tuskegee University, where he contributed his talents as an architect, planner, and educational visionary.

One hundred and fifteen years later, the faculty and students of MIT and Tuskegee University mark collaboration around an annual commemoration of this remarkable figure — on the date of Taylor’s address. Highlighting the growing exchanges and connections across the two campuses in current time, we mark the significance of our more-than-a-century relationship, and celebrate the profound legacy of Robert R. Taylor, across the United States and around the world.

It includes viewing of Robert R. Taylor’s original thesis and a conversation, with the participation of:

• Joshua Bennett
• Kwesi Daniels
• Nicholas de Monchaux
• Jonathan Duval
• Timothy Hyde
• Caroline Jones
• Carrie Norman
• Larry Sass

This program hosted at the MIT Museum is presented by MIT Architecture and the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. It includes viewing of Robert R. Taylor’s original thesis and a lunch-and-learn session.