Seminary Hill in Lynchburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
John Chilembwe
(ca. 1871-1915)
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 14, 2021
1. John Chilembwe Marker
Inscription.
John Chilembwe was the leader, in 1915, of the first major African uprising against colonial authorities in the British Protectorate of Nyasaland (Malawi). Chilembwe had come to Lynchburg in 1897 to study at Virginia Seminary under its president, Gregory Hayes. He returned to Africa by 1900 and set up Providence Industrial Mission before launching the revolt of 1915. A military patrol shot and killed Chilembwe on 3 Feb. 1915. The British Official Commission asserted that a main cause of the revolt had been Chilembwe's education in the United States. Malawi, where Chilembwe remains a symbol of liberation, became independent in 1964. John Chilembwe Day is celebrated annually on 15 Jan.
John Chilembwe was the leader, in 1915, of the first major African uprising against colonial authorities in the British Protectorate of Nyasaland (Malawi). Chilembwe had come to Lynchburg in 1897 to study at Virginia Seminary under its president, Gregory Hayes. He returned to Africa by 1900 and set up Providence Industrial Mission before launching the revolt of 1915. A military patrol shot and killed Chilembwe on 3 Feb. 1915. The British Official Commission asserted that a main cause of the revolt had been Chilembwe's education in the United States. Malawi, where Chilembwe remains a symbol of liberation, became independent in 1964. John Chilembwe Day is celebrated annually on 15 Jan.
Erected 2020 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number Q-6-54.)
79° 9.123′ W. Marker is in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is in Seminary Hill. It is on Dewitt Street just west of Garfield Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2234 Dewitt St, Lynchburg VA 24501, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 467 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 19, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
