10 Famous Black Mathematicians and Their Contributions

Famous Black Mathematicians

“The colour of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers.” -Benjamin Banneker

The following names represent those famous black mathematicians who beat the odds against their discrimination and achieved excellence in the field of mathematics.

1. Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

Best known for: Constructing a clock that struck hourly

Although best known as an African-American scientist, Benjamin Banneker was a multi-talented person who self-educated himself in astronomy and mathematics. He was also a writer, compiler of almanacs, surveyor and inventor. At the age of 24, Banneker observed a wrist-watch and used it to construct his own clock from wood which struck on the hour. He created puzzles for trigonometry which demonstrated his knowledge of logarithms. Banneker also attempted to find the exact lengths of an equilateral triangle which is inscribed within a circle where the diameter of the circle is known. He brought about a positive contribution in mathematics years before any black mathematician came to rise.

2. Charles Lewis Reason (1818-1893)

Best known for: First African-American to teach in a pre-dominantly white college

Although Reason’s contributions to the field are not spectacular, he is remembered as the first African-American to be appointed university professor at a pre-dominantly white college, that was, New York Central College, McGrawville. Charles Reason was an early child prodigy in mathematics as his parents laid great emphasis on education from the very beginning. At the age of 14, Charles began teaching at the African Free School in New York from where he embarked upon his life-long career as an educationist. He has worked tirelessly to promote education among the blacks and even founded that Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children.

3. Kelly Miller (1863-1939)

Best known for: First African-American to attend John Hopkins University

Mathematician, sociologist, columnist, essayist and scholar, Kelly Miller had a remarkable influence on the intellectual life of African-Americans. When a minister took notice of Miller’s exceptional mathematical abilities, he sent him to Fairfield Institute from where he earned a scholarship to Howard and later attended John Hopkins for post-graduate studies in mathematics, physics and astronomy. However, when JH raised their tuition fee, Miller left and adopted a teaching career in sociology and later pursued his mathematics study. Miller was also the first person to teach sociology at Howard University.

4. Dudley Weldon Woodard (1881-1965)

Best known for: Second African-American to earn Ph.D in mathematics and established the mathematics graduate program at Howard University

Dudley Woodard is remembered as the second African-American to achieve a Ph.D degree in Mathematics from Penn. Woodard had more achievements than any of his predecessors. He managed to publish his masters’ level thesis, ‘Loci Connected with the Problem of Two Bodies’ and taught college-level math for 20 years. He was also the dean at Howard – the most prestigious university for black Americans at the time. At Howard, Woodard established a graduate program in mathematics and furthered it by establishing a mathematics library, sponsored professorships and seminars- in short, Woodard advanced the mathematics faculty steadily in only quarter of a century. He is distinguished as one of the greatest Black Mathematicians of all time.

5. Martha Euphemia Lofton Haynes (1890–1980)

Best known for: First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D in Mathematics

Although she is remembered as the first black American woman with a Ph.D in mathematics in 1943, this was only a stepping stone in Martha Haynes’ extraordinary and highly influential career. She played an instrumental role in changing the face of the education system from which the blacks were often segregated or very few in number. For forty-seven years, Haynes taught at Washington DC’s public schools where she was also the first woman to chair the DC School Board. Haynes’ also served as chair at Dunbar High School and District of Columbia Teachers College for their respective mathematics departments. At Miner Teachers College, she went as far as establishing the mathematics department altogether.

6. Elbert Frank Cox (1895-1969)

Best known for: First African-American ever to receive Ph.D in Mathematics

Elbert Frank Cox is a name that will perhaps never be missed out when speaking about black mathematicians. In 1925, Cox became the first African-American to earn a Ph.D in mathematics. He inspired many future black mathematicians and served a 40 year long teaching career. He taught at Howard University and West Virginia State College. The Cox Talbot Address is annually delivered at National Association of Mathematicians’ national meetings in his honour and the Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund which is used to help black students achieve educational goals is also named in his honour.

7. William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor (1908-1967)

Best known for: Third African-American to receive a Ph.D in Mathematics

Being Dudley Woodward’s most promising student at Howard, it is no surprise that William Calytor was recommended for further studies at Penn. Claytor quickly earned himself an outstanding reputation at Penn where he won the Harrison Scholarship in Mathematics and later the Harrison Fellowship in Mathematics- the most prestigious award Penn had to offer. Moreover, his dissertation was also well-received by the faculty at Penn because it furthered the theory of Peano Continua-a branch of point-set topology. Come 1933, Claytor became the third African-American Ph.D holder and joined West Virginia College as a faculty member. Later in his life, Claytor earned a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1937 to further develop his theory on Imbeddability on questions regarding homogenous continua. Unfortunately, he went through a rough patch after which Claytor managed to return to his teaching work but did not get back to his research which left many colleagues at Penn disappointed.

8. Marjorie Lee Browne (1914-1979)

Best known for: Third African-American to earn a Ph.D in Mathematics

Another prominent female mathematician and educator was Marjorie Browne who was the third black woman to earn a doctorate in her field. Not only did she chair the Mathematics Department at North Carolina College but also responsible for setting up the first electronic digital computer center at a minority college in 1960. Browne taught undergraduate and graduate level math and published four sets of lecture notes during that time for other teachers to use. Furthermore, in 1950s, Browne won a Ford Foundation grant to Cambridge University and other grants to University of California and Columbia University thus allowing her to travel vastly for her field of study as well.

9. David Harold Blackwell (1919-2010)

Best known for: First black faculty member at UC Berkeley and only black American inducted into National Academy of Sciences

Perhaps one of the greatest African-American mathematicians, David Blackwell is part eponymous of the Rao-Blackwell Theorem, first black inductee (and only) into the National Academy of Sciences and first tenured member of faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Blackwell has also been the President of the American Statistical Society and Vice President of America Mathematics Society.

10. Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923-2011)

Best known for: Entering University at the age of 13

Rightly referred to as the ‘negro genius’ in the media, this African-American was a mathematician, mechanical engineer and nuclear scientist who became the youngest ever student on entering the University of Chicago at the age of 13. Wilkins worked as a contributor to the Manhattan Project during World War II, wrote numerous scientific papers, earned many awards, served several important posts and aided recruitment of minority students into science courses. Jesse Wilkins served in his respective fields for seventy years making undeniable contributions to optics, civil and nuclear engineering and pure and applied mathematics.

9 thoughts on “10 Famous Black Mathematicians and Their Contributions

  • January 19, 2021 at 1:22 pm
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    Great info. Lսcky me I ran across your sіte by accident (stumbleupon).
    I have saved it foг later!

    Reply
  • February 29, 2020 at 6:21 am
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    who is the third African American to have a Ph.D?
    William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor or Marjorie Lee Browne?
    who?

    Reply
    • June 8, 2020 at 5:32 am
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      Claytor was the third African American. Browne was the third African American woman.

      Reply
  • Pingback:Dr. David Harold Blackwell - Harlem Film Institute

  • February 9, 2018 at 11:00 am
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    Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) made the almanac that predicted seasonal changes as it related to farming and its principals are still being used today, but he is listed as “Best known for “Constructing a clock that struck hourly.”

    Reply
  • Pingback:28 DOBE- Day 7: Africa's Role in the History of Math | Black Excellence

  • September 15, 2016 at 12:51 pm
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    The most powerful weapon I know is MATHS under the sun.

    Reply
  • July 12, 2016 at 7:29 am
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    I’m bitterly disappointed that there are no Africans on this list. Why is there no mention of Ab Sahl al-Qayrawn or Joseph Albert Mokoena?

    Reply
  • November 22, 2015 at 3:13 pm
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    GREAT PEOPLE WE ARE PROUD OF YOU

    Reply

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