Kenneth Roderick O'Neal (1908–1989), was an American architect, engineer, and painter.[1][2][3] He founded the first Black-owned and led architecture firm in downtown Chicago.[4] O'Neal had studied under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,[2] and served as a mentor for early career architects including Beverly Lorraine Greene,[4] John Moutoussamy,[5] and Georgia Louise Harris Brown.[6]
Kenneth Roderick O'Neal | |
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Born | July 30, 1908 |
Died | March 17, 1989 |
Other names | K. Roderick O'Neal, Kenneth R. O'Neal |
Alma mater | University of Iowa, Armour Institute |
Occupation(s) | Architect, engineer, painter |
Kenneth Roderick O'Neal was born on July 30, 1908, in Union, Franklin County, Missouri.[1][7] He attended Sumner High School in St. Louis.[2]
O'Neal graduated with a B.A. degree (1931) in graphic design, and a B.S. degree (1935) in structural engineering from University of Iowa.[2] After graduation, he moved to Chicago to attend classes at Armour Institute (now Illinois Institute of Technology), studying under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[2]
In his early career, O'Neal worked under Walter T. Bailey.[5] He opened the first Black-led architecture firm in downtown Chicago,[4] and by 1940, he was a licensed architect in the state of Illinois. In 1937, Beverly Lorraine Greene had briefly worked for O'Neal's architecture firm, and he had served as one of her mentors.[4][8] Georgia Louise Harris Brown, the second African American woman to become a licensed architect in the United States, had also worked at the firm of O'Neal from 1945 to 1949.[1][9][6] Architect John Moutoussamy had also been mentored by O'Neal and worked at the firm.[5] O'Neal published two design books: "A Portfolio of Modern Homes" (1949),[10] and "A Volume of Contemporary Homes" (1980).
He retired in 1983.[2] O'Neal had married three times.[1] After retirement, he moved to Tucson, Arizona, followed by a move to Honolulu, Hawaii. He died at age 80 on March 17, 1989, in Honolulu.[11]
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