Renaissance Man

by Terry Golway   
Posted December 19, 2007

Paul Robeson

(1898–1976) A Princeton native, Robeson excelled as an athlete, a singer, an actor, and a social and political activist. He was the only black student at Rutgers during his time there. When he couldn’t find work as a lawyer after graduating from Columbia Law School, he turned to acting and singing. Later in life, he directed his talents toward politics, where his Marxist views inspired no end of controversy.