February is Black History Month – an annual celebration of achievements made by Black Americans. As educators, we can celebrate by discussing the accomplishments of Black Americans with our students. Their contributions throughout US history are numerous and significant! Math & Movement wants to highlight the black mathematicians who have greatly impacted our nation and the future of mathematics.
Benjamin Banneker was a self-educated mathematician and astronomer. Most notably, he built America’s first clock at age 24. Additionally, he was able to accurately forecast lunar and solar eclipses.
Banneker’s discoveries are amongst the earliest of Black mathematicians in the US.
Elbert Frank Cox was the first Black American to receive a PhD in Mathematics (1925, Cornell University). During his 40-year-long teaching career, he taught at Howard University and West Virginia State College.
The National Association of Mathematicians established the Cox-Talbot Address, which is delivered at annual national meetings in Cox’s honor. The Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund, which helps black students pursue studies, is also named in his honor.
Dudley Woodard was the second Black American to earn a PhD in mathematics (1928, University of Pennsylvania). He established the mathematics graduate program at Howard University. Praised as one of the greatest Black mathematicians of all time, Woodard had many incredible accomplishments.
Reputable mathematics journals published his thesis and other research. He also taught college-level mathematics for 40 years and mentored several other PhD students.
Martha Euphemia Loften Haynes was the first Black American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics. In 1943, she earned her PhD in Mathematics at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She was the first woman to chair the DC School Board.
Later, Haynes served as math chair at Dunbar High School and at D.C.’s Teachers College. She established the math department at Miner Teachers College and taught part-time as an adjunct professor at Howard University. She played an instrumental role in changing the face of the education system for Black students.
Marjorie Browne was the third black woman to earn a PhD in mathematics (1949, University of Michigan).
She chaired the mathematics department at North Carolina College and, in 1960, established an electronic digital computer center there, one of the first of its kind at a minority college.
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David Blackwell was an incredible American statistician and mathematician. He made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory, and Bayesian statistics.
Blackwell was the first Black American inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and the first Black tenured faculty member at UC Berkeley. Additionally, he was the seventh Black American to receive a PhD in Mathematics.
Jesse Ernest Wilkins was a world-class American mathematician, mechanical engineer, and nuclear scientist. He attended the University of Chicago at the age of 13, becoming its youngest student. During his life, he earned five science degrees.
Wilkins worked as a contributor to the Manhattan Project during World War II. He wrote almost 100 scientific papers (over 55 in mathematics).In 1965, he became the second Black American elected to the Academy of Engineering.
In 1970, Wilkins served Howard University as its distinguished professor of Applied Mathematical Physics and founded the university’s new PhD program in mathematics.
