Who is Ralph Bunche?
Ralph Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat noted for his mediation between the Israelis and Palestinians in the 1940s. He was responsible for an armistice agreement between the two groups and became the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a result. Ralph Bunche was also awarded the Medal of Freedom, one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States, from President Lyndon Johnson in 1971. Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan on 7 August 1904, the son of a barber and an amateur musician. At the age of ten, he moved with his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the hopes of improving his parents’ failing health. Sadly, they both died within a few years, and the orphaned Ralph Bunche moved to Los Angeles, California, where he lived with his grandmother, at the age of 13. Ralph Bunche attended Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, where he stood out for his excellence in academics and debate. Bunche graduated as valedictorian, but
Ralph Johnson Bunche (August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Palestine in the late 1940s that led to an armistice agreement between the Israelies and Palestinians in the region. He was the first African-American to be so honored in the history of the Prize.
