Charles Francis Meserve was born on July 15, 1850, in Abington, Massachusetts. A lifelong educator and administrator, Meserve ascended to the presidency of Shaw University in Raleigh in 1894. He remained at the helm of the university until 1919, stewarding the student body and campus through the tumultuous years of World War I. Meserve died in Raleigh on April 20, 1936.