Born near Hale's Ford, Virginia.

His mother gave himthe last name Taliaferro. He named himself Washington.Educated at Hampton Institute. His tuition was paid byGeneral Samuel C. Armstrong. Washington marriedFannie N. Smith in 1882. She died in 1884 leaving adaughter. He married Olivia A. Davidson in 1885. Shedied in 1889 leaving two sons. He married Maggie J.Murray October 12, 1893.

In May 1881 Washington was chosen on the recommendation of General Armstrong to start a Negro normal school in Tuskegee, Alabama. This became the Tuskegee Institute. Washington was a popular and frequent public speaker. His speech at the Cotton States and International Exposition September 18, 1893, in Atlanta, Georgia, brought him national recognition. As a spokesman he filled a void left by the recent death of Frederick Douglass. He died at Tuskegee, Alabama.

Washington appeared on two commemorative half dollars. As an individual he appears on the Booker T. Washington Half. Design was by Isaac Scott Hathaway. He shares the obverse with George Washington Carver on another Half Dollar. Design was also by Hathaway.

bio: ApCAB; ConAut 114; DAB; EAB; NCAB 7; TCBDA; WAB; WWWA-1