Octavius V. Catto, circa 1871.


Wood engraving, head and shoulders.
Full Size

One of Philadelphia's most prominent and respected African American leaders, Octavius Catto graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth and then taught there. Catto's murder during the "Election Riots" of the 1871 by a thug working for the Democratic party boss outraged the city, opened the polls to African-Americans voters, and cemented their allegiance to the Republican party.