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Justice Marmaduke Herbert Dent (April 18, 1849-September 11, 1909) was born in Granville, Monongalia County, and his childhood was framed by the tumultuous years of conflict over slavery, secession, and the Civil War. In 1867, Dent enrolled in the first class at West Virginia University and later received the first B.A. (1870) and first M.A. (1873) degrees granted by the university. Dent won election to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and served from 1893 to 1905. Although often on the losing side of Supreme Court decisions, Dent was in the majority on the pioneering 1898 civil rights case, Carrie Williams v. Board of Education. He authored the Court’s opinion in the case, ruling that black students were entitled to the same length of school term as white students and that teacher Williams was entitled to the same pay. Long foreshadowing the modern practice of affirmative action, Dent wrote for the Court that, “If any discrimination as to education should be made, it should be favorable to, and not against, the colored people.” Read more at e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1882 ... See MoreSee Less