Huey Jefferson Battle (October 31, 1918 – January 23, 1991) was an American economist who was an economics professor and administrator at Langston University and Virginia State University.
[1] Battle was born in Rusk, Texas in October 1918, and raised in Wewoka, Oklahoma.
[2] He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and then graduated from Langston University.
In 1954, he was the first African American to receive a PhD degree from Oklahoma State University, writing a dissertation in Agricultural Economics entitled, "Economic effects of some major changes in the flour-milling industry.
[2] Battle began his professional career as high school teacher, later becoming a professor at Langston University, where he served as department chair.