Dr. David Frederick Dorsey, Jr.

David F. Dorsey, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 30, 1934 and died on April

8, 2017 of complications of dementia. Dr. Dorsey was an academician for most of his life,

beginning as an Instructor/Assistant Professor of Classics at Howard University in Washington,

D.C. in 1960 and ending as Dean of Graduate Studies at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta,

Georgia in 1999. After retiring from academia and withstanding retirement for a brief while, Dr.

Dorsey enrolled as a full-time law student at Georgia State University. While in law school, he

interned at the Georgia Chapter of the ACLU, the Georgia Justice Project and the Southern

Center for Human Rights. His law career centered around local zoning matters. Dr. Dorsey

received his Bachelor’s degree in Latin from Haverford University; his first Master’s Degree in

Greek from the University of Michigan; a second Masters Degree and his Ph.D. from Princeton

University in Greek and Latin. In addition, Dr. Dorsey received an M.S.L.S. Degree in

Librarianship from Clark Atlanta University in order to catalogue his large collection of books.

Dr. Dorsey also served as a Fulbright Professor at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania;

was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow; held a Danforth Teacher Grant; and was designated as a United

Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar. He is survived by his sister Jeanne, his brother

Frederick (Mary Gail); nephews Eric Ferguson (Rosa), Joel Dorsry (Ella) and Greg Robinson;

niece Karen Dorsey Sheares (Beverley) and a host of devoted friends and former colleagues. He

was preceded in death by his younger sister, Isabel. Dr. Dorsey’s full biography and a sample of

his writings can be found on his blog, “Benevolent Iconoclast.” Per Dr. Dorsey’s instruction,

there will be no funeral or memorial service.

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