Background
John Lankford was born on a farm near Potosi, Missouri on December 4, 1874.
John Lankford was born on a farm near Potosi, Missouri on December 4, 1874.
He attended Lincoln Institute and Tuskegee Institute. He studied architectural and mechanical drawing from the International Correspondence School.
He was the first professionally licensed African American architect in Virginia in 1922 and in the District of Columbia in 1924. He has been regarded as the "dean of black architecture". He earned a bachelor of science from Shaw University in 1898.
He earned master of science degrees from Morris Brown College and Wilberforce University.
In 1902, he moved to Washington, District of Columbia to finish the design of the True Reformer Building. He was appointed supervising architect for the African Methodist Episcopal denomination.
He organized the National Negro Business League chapter in Washington, District of Columbia in 1905. His Southern Aid Society building in Richmond, Virginia is considered the "first exclusively African American office building in the country, being the result of a collaboration between a black patron, architect, and contractor."
He lived and worked at 1448 Q Street, Northwest, in Washington.
He died on July 2, 1946 in Washington, District of Columbia and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.
Buildings he designed include:
Arnett Hall, Wilberforce University
Chapelle Administration Building at Allen University, which is a National Historic Landmark
Southern Aid Society building, built 1908, stood at 527 North. 2nd Street, Richmond, Virginia
True Reformer Building in Washington, District of Columbia