Kathleen Mary Easmon Simango


Kathleen Mary Easmon Simango was a Sierra Leonean missionary and artist who was the first West African to earn a diploma from the Royal College of Arts. She was the niece of Adelaide Casely-Hayford and was a personal friend of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Simango was also a member of the prominent Sierra Leone Creole Easmon family.

Early years and education

Kathleen Mary Easmon was born on 9 August 1891 as the younger of two children in Accra, Gold Coast, to Dr John Farrell Easmon and Annette Kathleen Easmon, née Smith. Kathleen was educated at Slaford House School, then Notting Hill High School from 1903 to 1907, then the Girls' Modern School, Bedford from 1907 to 1908, and finally the Royal College of Arts in London.

Personal life

She was married to Columbus Kamba Simango, an East African teacher educated at Columbia University.

Death

Kathleen Easmon died of appendicitis, aged 32, on 20 July 1924 at Charing Cross Hospital, London, England.