Wesley, Dorothy Porter (25 May 1905–17 December 1995), librarian and African-American historiographer, was born Dorothy Louise Burnett in Warrenton, Virginia, the daughter of Hayes J. Burnett, a physician, and Bertha (Ball) Burnett, a tennis player who was instrumental in the establishment of the New Jersey Tennis Association. She grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in Montclair, New Jersey, where she attended racially mixed public schools. Upon completing high school she enrolled at Miner Normal School (later Miner Teachers College, which became part of the University of the District of Columbia) in 1923. While there a developing love of books led her away from a teaching career toward her ultimate life's work, beginning with a yearlong stint filling in for a librarian on sick leave at Miner in 1925. Realizing that she needed a college degree, she enrolled at nearby Howard University and earned a B.A. in 1928....
