John L. Waller

Who was John L. Waller?

John Lewis Waller was an African-American lawyer, politician, journalist, publisher, businessman, military leader and diplomat whose rise to prominence resulted in him becoming the United States counsel to Madagascar. He was the grandfather of Negro World editor, poet, composer and lyricist Andy Razaf.

Waller was born to enslaved parents in New Madrid County, Missouri. At the end of the U.S. Civil War, he moved with his family to a farm in Tama County, Iowa. He began his education in 1863 which was completed when he graduated from high school in Toledo, Iowa.