1955 - Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder and first president of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, died on this date. Ms. Bethune, who was born to former slave parents on July 10, 1875, began her own school on October 3, 1904, with a capital of only $1.50. Bethune’s career in education began when she received a scholarship to attend Scotia Seminary in North Carolina. A second scholarship provided the means for her to attend the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. After teaching eight years at schools in Augusta, Georgia, and Palatka, Florida, she opened her own school. In 1923, Bethune-Cookman College was created. In 1924, Mrs. Bethune was elected president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. In 1935, she founded and became the first president of the National Council of Negro Women. A close friend of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Mrs. Bethune was part of the “Black Cabinet,” which advised President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on matters regarding African-Americans in the United States. She was also a consultant to the founding conference of the United Nations.