William Henry Fitzjohn

William Henry Fitzjohn (5 November 1915 – 20 December 1989) was a Sierra Leonean churchman, educator and diplomat.

• In 1946 he was Ordained into the Ministry of Evangelical United Brethren Church (Dayton, Ohio).
• From 1950 to 1959 he taught Educational Sociology and Religion, Fourah Bay College, University of Durham.
• From 1951 to 1959 he was Member of the Sierra Leone House of Parliament.
• From 1950 to 1959 he was associate minister King memorial, Evangelical United Brethren church.
• From 1959 to 1961 he was Chargé d'affaires in Washington, D.C. Early in the spring of 1961, a snub turned into an international incident, when William Fitzjohn, charge d'affaires for Sierra Leone in Washington, en route to Pittsburgh for a lecture, stopped for dinner with his driver at a Howard Johnson restaurant on the outskirts of Hagerstown.[2] Both men were refused service because of their color. President John F. Kennedy, appalled by what had transpired, received Fitzjohn in the White House. The president of Howard Johnson's apologized for the snub while the mayor of Hagerstown, Winslow F. Burhans, invited him to a dinner with several of the city's leading citizens.[3]
• From 1961 to 1964 he was High Commissioner (Commonwealth) in London (United Kingdom).
• in 1962 he became Director of Sierra Leone Selection Trust Ltd.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
• From November 1971 to 1976 he was High Commissioner in Lagos.[10]

William Henry Fitzjohn
Sierra Leonean Ambassador to the United States of Sierra Leone to United States
In office 27 April 1961 – 18 July 1961
Succeeded by	Richard Edmund Kelfa-Caulker
Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Sierra Leone to United Kingdom[1]
In office 18 July 1961 – 1964
Preceded by	Richard Edmund Kelfa-Caulker
Succeeded by	Richard Edmund Kelfa-Caulker
Sierra Leonean Ambassador to Nigeria of Sierra Leone to Nigeria
In office November 1971 – 1972
Preceded by	H.C. Mansaray
Succeeded by	1993–2002: Joe Blell
Personal details
Born	(1915-11-05)5 November 1915 Mattru Jong
Died	20 December 1989(1989-12-20) (aged 74) Freetown
Spouse(s)	Muriel Alice Ayodele Cole
Children	Amelia, Dwight, William Jr., Kwame, Walter, Mamei Katie and Jonathan Musselman
Mother	Eva Fitzjohn
Father	Jonathan Fitzjohn
Alma mater	Albert Academy (Freetown), Diploma and Sierra Leone Teachers Certificate. 1943: Lincoln University (Pa.), B.A.. 1946: United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio), B.D.. 1949: Teachers College, Columbia University (NY), M.A. and Ed.D. 1962: LL.D (Lincoln).

References

1. "SLHC". Slhc-uk.org. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
2. "Nation: Most Embarrassing". Content.time.com. 21 April 1961. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
3. "Meeting with Dr. W. H. Fitzjohn, Charge d'Affaires, Sierra Leone, 9:40AM - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum". Jfklibrary.org. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
4. "West Africa". West Africa Publishing Company, Limited. 10 October 1990. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
5. "Sierra Leone Year Book". Daily Mail Publication. 10 October 1965. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
6. "Sierra Leone Year Book". Daily Mail Publication. 10 October 1965. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
7. "Sierra Leone Year Book". Daily Mail Publication. 10 October 1965. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
8. "Sierra Leone Year Book". Daily Mail Publication. 10 October 1965. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
9. Uwechue, Raph; Limited, Africa Books (10 October 1991). "Makers of Modern Africa". Africa Journal Limited. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.
10. Dixon-Fyle, Mac (10 October 1999). "A Saro Community in the Niger Delta, 1912-1984: The Potts-Johnsons of Port Harcourt and Their Heirs". University Rochester Press. p. 174. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via Google Books.