Lawrence (Larry) Baraebibai Ekpebu, exceptionally well-regarded Nigerian, reputed to be the first African to graduate from Harvard College, and revered Harvard Class of 1960 classmate (winner of the Francis H. Burr Award, along with classmate Hank Keohane, for remarkable qualities of character, leadership, scholarship and athletic ability in June of 1960 and the only Black recipient of the Award in the awards history until 2020 [1918-2021]) died on January 2, 2022, at the age of 86.
Larry was born May 2, 1935, in Sabagreia, Nigeria. He prepared at Ahmadiyya High School in Lagos, Nigeria. Larry belonged to Lowell House at Harvard College and, majoring in government, graduated with an A.B. cum laude in 1960. He went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton in 1962, and a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Harvard University (government with emphasis in international law and relations) both in 1965.
Larry’s career in Nigeria, both as a teacher/professor and as a government official of the highest rank, was extraordinary.
Please go to the Harvard Class of 1960’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report and the Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1960 Forty-fifth Anniversary Report and Sixtieth Anniversary Report for information about Larry’s life as he reported it.
Also, please follow these links to additional information about Larry’s life, including the perspectives of those who knew him.
Please go to the Harvard Class of 1960’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report and the Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1960 Forty-fifth Anniversary Report and Sixtieth Anniversary Report for information about Larry’s life as he reported it.