Henry Arthur Callis (January 14, 1887 – November 12, 1974)[1] was a physician and one of the
seven founders (commonly referred to as The Seven Jewels) of
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at
Cornell University in 1906. Callis co-authored the fraternity name with
George Kelley and became the only Jewel to become general president of the fraternity (1915). Callis assisted in the organization of several chapters, including Xi Lambda Chapter (1924) in Chicago.
The Eta Tau Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha created Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Inc. to address housing for
low-income families, individuals and senior citizens in
Akron, Ohio.[6] In 1971, Alpha Homes received an $11.5 million grant from
HUD to begin groundbreaking on Channelwood Village with the Henry Arthur Callis Tower as its centerpiece.[7]
Callis died on November 12, 1974, in
Washington, D.C. His death was a milestone for the fraternity as Callis became the last Jewel to enter its Omega Chapter—distinguished to contain the names of deceased fraternity members, and the Alpha Phi Alpha entered a period when it had no living "Jewels". The Callis Papers - personal and family papers of Henry Callis including awards, certificates, clippings, correspondence, a diary, notebooks, photographs, programs and scrapbooks relating to Callis and his family - were donated to Howard University's
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.
Personal life
Callis was the second husband of poet
Alice Dunbar; their marriage ended in divorce.[8][9]
^"Jewel Henry Arthur Callis". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc – Omicron Delta Lambda Chapter. Archived from
the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
Wesley, Charles H. (1981). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life (14 ed.). Chicago: Foundation. ASIN: B000ESQ14W.
Mason, Herman (1999). "The Jewels' Jewel—Henry Arthur Callis". The Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha (2nd ed.).
Winter Park, Florida: Four-G.
ISBN1-885066-63-5.