Richard Theodore Greener was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1844. Young Richard quit school in his teens to work to help the family. His employer aided him in entering preparatory school at Oberlin Academy in Oberlin College. He enrolled in Phillips Academy and graduated in 1865. He then attended Oberlin College for three years before transferring to Harvard College. His admission to Harvard was “an experiment” successfully ending with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1870; thus paving the way for future Black Harvard graduates.
In 1873, Greener accepted a philosophy professorship at the University of South Carolina. While at the University, he taught international law and the Constitution of the U.S. He graduated from law school in 1876. The University closed at the end of Reconstruction in 1877. Greener then passed the Bar in the District of Columbia. He took a position at Howard University Law School and served as its dean 1878-1880.
For a number of years, Richard T. Greener served as a public servant, an activist and a diplomat. He practiced law and lectured until his death in 1922.