Dec. 11, 1962 - The exclusive Cosmos Club, embroiled earlier this year in a racial discrimination controversy that reached the White House, has elected Negro historian John Hope Franklin (pictured) a member. Franklin, the first Negro member of the club, was approved by the admissions committee Monday night, Cosmos president Francis L. Adams said. Mr. Franklin, 47, is chairman of the department of history at Brooklyn College and is a Pitt professor at Cambridge University in England. He is author of many books, including “A History of American Negroes.” The question of Negro membership arose last January. The admissions committee turned down Carl Rowan, deputy assistant secretary of state for public affairs and a Negro. Several prominent club members, including Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, resigned, and President Kennedy withdrew his application for membership.
