Who is Colin Powell?

Find out more about the history of Colin Powell, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com. read more

Colin Powell was initiated as an honorary brother in Sigma Phi Epsilon. Powell is a recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America. A street in Gelnhausen, Germany was named after him:"General-Colin-Powell-Straße". read more

Colin Luther Powell is a United States statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. read more

Colin Powell. Purple Heart recipient Colin Powell was the first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Learn about his two tours of duty in Vietnam and his time working as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush in this video. read more