Dr. Richard E. Holmes, Mississippi State University's first Black student, dies at 82

Dr. Richard E. Holmes, the first African American student to integrate Mississippi State University, has died at the age of 82. A native of Starkville, Holmes enrolled at the university on July 19, 1965.

During his time at Mississippi State University, Holmes earned a liberal arts degree in 1969 and a master’s degree in microbiology in 1973. He later obtained a medical degree from Michigan State University in 1977 and practiced as an emergency room physician in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 2003, Dr. Holmes returned to Mississippi to serve as a staff physician at the university’s Longest Student Health Center. His contributions to the institution were recognized in 2006 when Mississippi State University named him National Alumnus of the Year. He also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from his alma mater.