Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was a revolutionary African-American political activist who, along with fellow Merritt College student Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. In 1967, he was involved in a shootout which led to the death of a police officer and in 1974 was accused of shooting a woman, leading to her death. During this time, he continued to pursue an academic career, eventually earning a Ph.D. in social philosophy from the University of California, Santa Cruz's History of Consciousness program in 1980.