 Applegate graduated from Temple University and then earned his master's and Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. From there, he began working at MIT and in 1956 was named the Institute's first black faculty member. In 1966, he started teaching at Howard University and it was there that he created the nation's first African Studies Ph.D. program. Applegate retired from Howard University in 2002 and passed away the following year at the age of 78. I'm Wesson Tashom.