W.E.B. Du Bois was a prominent African American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and writer who lived from 1868 to 1963. He was the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University, co-founded the NAACP, and wrote influential works like "The Souls of Black Folk" that addressed racial inequality in America. Du Bois advocated for full civil rights and higher education for African Americans, opposed racial accommodation policies, and was a leading figure in Pan-Africanism and Black nationalism.