What is Wesley Augustus Williams?
{{Infobox Person | name =Wesley Augustus Williams | image = Wesley Augustus Williams in 1915.jpg | caption =Wesley Augustus Williams in 1915 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|8|26}} | birth_place =[[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|7|3|1897|8|26}} | death_place = [[Forest Hills, New York City]] | death_cause =| other_names = | known_for =First [[African-American]] officer in the [[New York City Fire Department]] | education = | occupation = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents =James Henry Williams<br>Lucy Metrash | relatives = }} '''Wesley Augustus Williams''' (August 26, 1897 - July 3, 1984) was the first [[African-American]] officer in the [[New York City Fire Department]]. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1927.<ref name=obit/> He was the third African-American man to join the New York Fire Department. He was one of the founders of the [[Vulcan Society]] in 1940.<ref name=vulcan>{{cite web |url=http://www.vulcansocietyfdny.org/History.html |title=History of the Vulcan Society |access-date=2015-09-17 |publisher=[[Vulcan Society]] |archive-date=2015-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023120638/http://www.vulcansocietyfdny.org/History.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==Biography== He was born on August 26, 1897 to James Henry Williams (1879-1948) and Lucy Metrash (1881-1932) in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]].<ref>Wesley Augustus Williams in the [[1900 United States Census]] on June 6, 1900 in Manhattan. His mother was born in [[Connecticut]].</ref> He wanted to join the [[New York City Fire Department]] when he read about [[Samuel Jesse Battle]] joining the New York City police department. The first African-American to join the New York City Fire Department was [[William H. Nicholson]], who joined in 1898.<ref name=vulcan/> Williams had a very high [[score]] on his [[Writing|written]] test.<ref name=OtisAM>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/black-firefighters-matter/394946/|title=Why So Few of New