[6] Eagleson attended primary and secondary schools in the Bloomington area, and there he first developed an interest in physics and music.

He was the first African American student to be elected to Sigma Xi, the honorary science society.

[9] However, in 1922 as Eagleson was preparing to receive the "I," he was kidnapped by white students affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan who attempted to prevent him from performing at a Purdue University game and earning the letter.

Sixty years passed before Eagleson formally received his "I" letter in band for his musical achievements, after a 1982 alumni meeting in Bloomington.

[11][12][13] In 1927, while still pursuing his graduate studies, Eagleson began working as an instructor in mathematics and physics at Morehouse College.

[1] In addition to his tenured teaching appointments, he worked as a professor, assistant director, and staff member at National Science Foundation summer institutes in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

[14] Outside of his teaching duties, he also was a consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency on noise pollution, and a member of an advisory group that evaluated scientific instruments developed by Bell Labs.

[14][2] In 1972, the first formal meeting of African-American physicists was held at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, in an event called the Day of Scientific Lectures and Seminars (DOSLAS).

This first meeting was organized to honor the work of Eagleson, John McNeile Hunter, and Donald A.

[1] He was fluent in Spanish, French, and German, and played numerous instruments, including the piano, saxophone, clarinet, and violin.