Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
OCCUPATION: Educator, Historian, Scholar, Literary Critic, Filmmaker, Academic Author, Editor
BIRTH DATE: September 16, 1950 (Age: 62)
EDUCATION: Yale University, University of Cambridge
PLACE OF BIRTH: Keyser, West Virginia
Nickname: Skip Gates
ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo

Best Known For

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is an African-American educator and scholar, and the director of the W. E. B. DuBois Institute for African and African-American Research.

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Henry Louis Gates Jr.

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Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:36, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556.

Harvard Style

Henry Louis Gates Jr. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556 [Accessed 21 May 2013].

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"Henry Louis Gates Jr.," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556 [accessed May 21, 2013].

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"Henry Louis Gates Jr.," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556 (accessed May 21, 2013).

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Henry Louis Gates Jr., http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556 (last visited May 21, 2013).

AMA Style

Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556. Accessed May 21, 2013.

In reality, Gates and his African-American driver were attempting to get into the house after having trouble with the door. Reports conflict on the what happened next: some say that the officer refused to identify himself after Gates asked for his name and badge number, while others say that Gates refused to answer the officer's questions and became disorderly after he belived the policer officer was guilty of racism. In the aftermath of this incident,

President Barack Obama said he believed the police had "acted stupidly." The comment opened the president to public criticism on the issue.

Gates has been married to Sharon Lynn Adams since 1979. Gates and his wife have two daughters, Maude and Elizabeth.