Rosa Dixon Bowser

Rosa L. Dixon Bowser (January 7, 1855 — February 7, 1931) was an American educator. She was the first black teacher hired in Richmond, Virginia. She organized the Virginia Teachers' Reading Circle, which became the Virginia State Teachers Association, the first organization representing black teachers in Virginia, serving as the organization's president from 1890 to 1892. Bowser was president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Virginia, as well as founder and first president of the Richmond Woman's League. She was a correspondent for the magazine The Woman's Era, and wrote essays for national publications. The first branch of the Richmond Public Library to serve African-American patrons was named for Bowser.