Name/Title
Cornelius A. LadnerEntry/Object ID
4Description
Cornelius Abraham Ladner was born in Hancock, MS on February 5, 1905 to Calvin and Alberta Ladner. He was a graduate of 1927 Fisk University and head of the English department at Phyllis Wheatley high school in Houston, TX during the 1930’s and early 1940s. He would teach in the Houston Public school system from the late 1920’s to the mid 1950s. In 1942, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, he was one of 16 recruits into the Army Air Force at Ellington Field, TX and became part of the 79th squadron, the only all black unit at Ellington Field.
Brother Cornelius Ladner was initiated at Kappa Chapter in t925 and was a charter member of Houston Alumni. He also was past president of the Houston Fisk Club, director of Houston Negro Little Theatre, taught English and Dramatics at Phyllis Wheatley High School and served as a part-time instructor at Houston College for Negroes (TSU). In 1947, Brother Ladner was instrumental in the chartering of the Beta Upsilon chapter at TSU and in that same year was installed as the Southwestern Province Polemarch by Grand Polemarch J. Ernest Wilkins. Brother Ladner passed away on July 14, 1955Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
DigitalCreated By
rtcrockett@msn.comCreate Date
October 25, 2025Updated By
rtcrockett@msn.comUpdate Date
February 27, 2026