51 Facts About Alexander Dimitry

Alexander Dimitry was an American author, diplomat, educator, journalist, lawyer, orator, and publicist.

Alexander Dimitry was the first state superintendent of public instruction in Louisiana and represented the United States as Ambassador to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Alexander Dimitry was the first person of color to hold both offices and despite his mixed heritage, he was one of the few people of color to serve in the bureaucracy of the Confederate Government.

Alexander Dimitry was born in New Orleans to a Greek white father, Andrea Alexander Dimitry, and to a mixed Greek-African mother, Marianne Celeste Dragon.

Alexander Dimitry grew up speaking a number of languages and promoted Greece throughout his entire life.

Alexander Dimitry attended Georgetown University, which later paved the way for other members of the Dimitry family to attend the institution.

Alexander Dimitry was a prominent educator throughout his entire life, giving lectures on many subjects including The Wonders of Astronomy and The Harmonies of Creation.

Alexander Dimitry was one of the founders of the secret society The Seven Wise Men or The Order of the Heptasophs.

Alexander Dimitry was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club and Louisiana Historical Society.

Alexander Dimitry was one of vice-presidents during the Grand Unification Mass Meeting in 1873 to desegregate schools in Louisiana during the Jim Crow era.

Alexander Dimitry was a prominent educator and became a chair at the Pass Christian College.

Alexander Dimitry died at seventy-seven years old in New Orleans and is buried at Saint Louis Cemetery No 1 along with other family members.

Alexander Dimitry was born in New Orleans, February 7,1805, to Greek merchant Andrea Dimitry and Marianne Celeste Dragon who was of partial Greek ancestry and Creole heritage.

Alexander Dimitry's father immigrated to New Orleans in the spring of 1799, and fought in the War of 1812, serving in the Battle of New Orleans with Major General and future President Andrew Jackson.

Alexander Dimitry's maternal grandmother Francoise Monplaisir was born to an enslaved mulatto woman in New Orleans and baptized in 1755.

At fifteen years old Alexander Dimitry entered Georgetown University in Washington, DC; he graduated in 1826.

Alexander Dimitry took the bar examination and entered law as a profession.

Alexander Dimitry was knowledgeable in Roman, English, and French law and immediately obtained a reputable position.

Alexander Dimitry was more interested in education, literature, and languages, and became a professor at the College of Baton Rouge.

Alexander Dimitry returned to New Orleans after two years and was one of the owners and editors of L'Abeille, a French newspaper.

Alexander Dimitry was the first editor of the English side of the paper.

Alexander Dimitry frequently traveled to Washington, DC, where he met his wife, Mary Powell Mills.

Alexander Dimitry was from Charleston, South Carolina, and the designer of the Washington Monument.

In 1835, Alexander Dimitry became the principal clerk for the Southwest Postal Department.

Alexander Dimitry remained in this position for four years and several of his children were born in Washington.

Alexander Dimitry was a notable author and wrote for many different publications from 1830 to 1850 under the pseudonym Tobias Guarnerius.

Alexander Dimitry then became superintendent of the schools of New Orleans.

Around this time, Alexander Dimitry educated prominent Creole American author, poet, and translator Mary Bushnell Williams.

Alexander Dimitry was the first person of color and the first incumbent of the office in Louisiana.

Alexander Dimitry was one of the clerks to the Secretary of State William L Marcy under President Franklin Pierce.

Alexander Dimitry was appointed to a commission to revise some treaties with American Indian Tribes.

President Buchanan appointed Alexander Dimitry as United States minister resident of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 1859.

Alexander Dimitry was crucial because he spoke the native languages fluently he made important speeches in Spanish at diplomatic functions.

Alexander Dimitry was very knowledgeable about the conditions of Central America and Dimitry was about to obtain a treaty with Nicaragua but because of the secession of South Carolina on December 20,1860, the negotiation ended.

Alexander Dimitry turned down a yearly salary of $12,000 in gold.

Alexander Dimitry was extremely educated and worked with his father as the Secretary of Legation of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Alexander Dimitry later became Assistant Postmaster General of the Confederacy.

Alexander Dimitry lost his life in battle near Germantown, Maryland.

Alexander Dimitry signed the letter with, "Old Friend + Fellow Louisianan".

Beauregard replied: "I listen to no appeal from a traitor to the land of his birth," as Alexander Dimitry had abandoned the Confederate cause.

One year later Alexander Dimitry became professor of Latin at the Christian Brothers College in Pass Christian, Mississippi.

In 1875, Alexander Dimitry wrote an article for Le Meschacebe, a prominent Louisiana newspaper entitled The Creole Defined.

Alexander Dimitry defines the word Creole and outlines its significance throughout grammatical history.

Alexander Dimitry spent the remainder of his life at Christian Brothers College.

Alexander Dimitry continued writing articles for newspapers and lectured all over the South.

Alexander Dimitry often lectured at the dedication of buildings and was a well-known scholar.

Alexander Dimitry's lectures included his theory on Earth's Fitness for Man, which discussed the formation of Earth, light, and animals, the creation, and the relation of man to the infinite.

Alexander Dimitry participated at the commencement of the Peabody Normal Seminary on several occasions.

Alexander Dimitry was a member of the Order of Heptasophs.

Alexander Dimitry died at his home in New Orleans in 1883.

Alexander Dimitry's portrait was on the cover of the 2009 book Exiles at Home by Shirley Elizabeth Thompson.