ABSTRACT
Francis Nwia Kofi Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanist, one of the founders of the Organisation of African Unity and the first leader of independent Ghana, was born in Nkroful in the Nzima region of what was at that time the British colony of the Gold Coast. Although his father, a goldsmith, had many wives, Nkrumah was the only child born to his mother. He was educated in local missionary schools and then in 1926 attended the Government Training College in Accra (known as Achimota College from 1927) where he trained as a teacher. After graduating in 1930 Nkrumah worked as a teacher but also considered training for the priesthood. In 1935 Nkrumah journeyed to Britain and then to the USA to study at Lincoln University. He then completed post-graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his studies, Nkrumah was employed as a teacher of political science at Lincoln University.
