William Frank Kobina Coleman

William Frank Kobina Coleman was a Ghanaian engineer.[1] He was the first Ghanaian to serve as the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation,[2] he served in this capacity from 1960 to 1970.[1]

William Frank Kobina Coleman
2nd Director-General of the GBC
In office
1960–1970
PresidentKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byJ. B. Millar
Succeeded byStephen Bekoe Mfodwo
Personal details
Born
William Frank Kobina Coleman

(1922-03-21)21 March 1922
Kano, Kano State, Northern Region, Nigeria
NationalityGhanaian
Education
Alma mater
OccupationGeneral Manager & Director-General of the GBC (1960–1970)

Early life and education

Coleman was born in Kano, the capital  of Kano State, Nigeria (then Northern Nigeria) on 21 March 1922.[1][3] His father was then a civil servant residing in Kano.[3] He had his early education at the Holy Trinity School in Kano where he passed his third Standard in 1932.[4] A year later, he left Kano for the Gold Coast, where he resumed his education at E. C. M. Senior School at Saltpond.[4] He enrolled at Adisadel College, Cape Coast in 1936 but returned to Nigeria a year later to join his parents.[4][5] Coleman gained admission at the Igbobi C. M. S./Methodist Secondary School where he graduated in 1940.[4]

Career

In 1941, Coleman gained employment at the Nigerian Railways but left for the Gold Coast after a year of service.[4] He took up a teaching job in 1942 at St. Edward's Seminary, a school which was then located at Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.[4] He later joined the Treasury as a second Decision Clerk prior to entering Achimota College to pursue an Intermediate bachelor's degree in Engineering.[4][5] Upon passing his External Degree Examinations, Coleman was attached to the Gold Coast Broadcasting Service (now the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) for a brief period of time after which he joined the Achimota College teaching staff.[4] In 1948, he won a scholarship to study a post graduate course in the United Kingdom.[4] He studied at the University of Southampton (where he obtained a diploma in Electronics),[1] the University of London (where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Engineering),[5] and also had an attachment course with the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Messrs Marconi, a radio company then in the United Kingdom.[4] Coleman returned to the Gold Coast after his studies abroad to join the Gold Coast Broadcasting Service once again.[4] He begun as an engineer, and was later promoted to the post of a Deputy Chief Engineer in 1955.[1][4] In 1958, he became the Chief Engineer and later the Deputy Director when the position was regraded.[1][4][6] In August 1960, Coleman was appointed Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation,[7] succeeding J. B. Millar.[4][6] Coleman served in this capacity from 1960 to 1970.[4] He was succeeded by Stephen Bekoe Mfodwo in August 1970.[8] Coleman remains the longest serving Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.[4] He once served as the vice president of the Ghana Institution of Engineers.[1]

See also

References

  1. Who's who of British Engineers. Ohio University Press. 1970.
  2. Ghartey-Tagoe, David Kwesi (2010-07-28). David Ghartey-Tagoe: A Broadcast Icon. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4535-4207-1.
  3. Ghanaian. Star Publishing Company, Limited. 1960.
  4. "Ghanaian". Star Publishing Company, Limited. Issues 19-29, Issues 31-35: 3. 1960.
  5. Ghana Today. Information Section, Ghana Office. 1959.
  6. Ghana Today. Information Section, Ghana Office. 1959.
  7. Educational Broadcasting International. Peter Peregrinus. 1970.
  8. Africa, Union of National Radio and Television Organizations of (1980). URTNA Review: Revue de LÚRTNA (in French). The Union.
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