Henry Ossian Flipper(1856-1940) was an American soldier, former slave, and the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877, earning a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army.

Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856-April 26, 1940) was born in Thomasville, Georgia. He attended Atlanta University where he was nominated to attend the United States Military Academy. On June 14, 1877 he became the first black man to graduate from the academy. From 1878 to 1881, he fought in the Indian wars of the Southwest, which included the Apache Chieftain Victoria. For his excellent service he received various promotions including Acting Assistant Quartermaster, Post Quartermaster and Acting Commissary of Subsistence.

In 1882, he received a court martial from the Army under accusations that were later proven to be false. Despite the termination of his military career, Lt. Flipper continued to work for the government over the next fifty years. During this period he worked for the Justice Department, Court of Private Land Claims, consultant to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Interior. As the Assistant to the Secretary of Interior he was responsible for the planning and construction of the Alaskan railroad system.

As a civilian he was the first African-American to gain respect and recognition in the engineering profession. He was appointed chief engineer and legal advisor to American oil and mining companies in Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico commissioned him to write the history of mining in Mexico, which became a three volume text. In 1895 he became the editor of the Nogales Sunday Herald, becoming the first black editor of an all white newspaper. Other honorable mentions include his membership in the Southwest Society and the Archeological Institute of America. He also served as a physics instructor at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia.

December 13, 1976 ended a thorough review by the Army Board for Corrections in which Assistant Secretary of the Army Donald Brontzman announced the exoneration of Lt. Henry O. Flipper from his previous 1882 court martial and awarded him an honorable discharge. For the next two years, four national ceremonies were held to commemorate and recognize him for his contributions to America and to publicly correct an improper judgment.