Henry P. Jacobs

Henry P. Jacobs (July 8, 1825 - December 14, 1899) was a janitor, preacher, founder of schools, and state legislator in Mississippi.

He escaped slavery to Canada and then moved to Michigan before settling in Natchez, Mississippi after the American Civil War.

[2] He founded the school that became Jackson State University.

[3][4] In 2010, Jackson State University president Ronald Mason Jr. proposed merging several Historically Black Colleges and Universities into specialized campuses of a newly formed university called Jacobs State University in honor of Jacobs.

[3] He served with John R. Lynch and O. C. French in the Mississippi House of Representatives from Adams County, Mississippi.