1. Julian Steele's father, Alexander McPherson Steele, was a postal worker.
15 Facts About Julian Steele
1. 2.
Around age seven, Julian Steele moved with his family to Boston, Massachusetts his mother's hometown.
3.
Julian Steele's brother, Joseph Alexander Ellis Julian Steele, was a noted jazz musician.
4.
Controversy associated with his impending mixed-race marriage forced Julian Steele to resign his position at the Shaw Settlement.
5.
Julian Steele, who established a dairy herd for his working farm, said that the countryside held appeal as a good place to have a family.
6.
Julian Steele was the first black town moderator in Massachusetts.
7.
Julian Steele was instrumental in the decision of renowned African-American tenor Roland Hayes to purchase a summer home in West Newbury on Crane Neck Street, just up from the Julian Steele farm.
8.
Julian Steele held a number of state and federal posts, often as the first black person in the position.
9.
Julian Steele was appointed to the Massachusetts Parole Board in 1954.
10.
In 1960, Julian Steele was appointed assistant administrator of the US Housing and Home Financing Agency, with responsibility for New England and New York.
11.
Massachusetts Senator Leverett Saltonstall said at the time that Julian Steele was the first black person appointed to such a high position in that agency.
12.
Julian Steele became the Deputy Commissioner of Urban Renewal in Massachusetts' Department of Commerce and Development in 1965.
13.
When he was appointed commissioner of Massachusetts' new Department of Community Affairs in 1968, Julian Steele became the first black person to head an agency in the state.
14.
In 1954 Julian Steele was named the first black moderator of the Massachusetts Congregational Christian Conference, a denomination descending directly from the Puritans.
15.
On January 17,1970, Julian Steele died of a heart attack in his sleep at home in West Newbury.