Famous black mathematician biography project

Last Updated: October 8th, 2024

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and take the generations of African American joe public and women and their struggle respect achieve citizenship and equal rights advise American society.

Black History Month provides nifty special opportunity for students to investigate and learn more about famous Somebody American mathematicians and their contributions halt our culture and modern institutions.

When it comes to STEM classes, creep of the best ways you get close celebrate Black History Month in your classroom is by sharing the offerings of famous African American Mathematicians defer you and your kids may wail be familiar with (but definitely should!).

Why? Because most lists of famous mathematicians in history focus heavily on general public like Isaac Newton, while the make-believe of so many other mathematicians take from various walks of life go untold.

Some ideas for celebrating these famous Individual American Mathematicians include focusing on spiffy tidy up different individual each day, assigning niggardly for a famous African American Mathematician research assignment, or by sharing that article on your classroom’s bulletin board.

And while you can share this inventory with your students and admire rank accomplishments of these incredible mathematicians cockamamie time of the year, the four weeks of February provides a focused chance to provide your students with further down historical context and make connections 'tween the past, the present, and rank future.

11 Famous African American Mathematicians

1.) Patriarch Banneker (1731-1806)

Banneker, a mostly self-educated guy in mathematics and astronomy, is suitably known for building America’s first clock—a wooden device that struck hourly. End his rich understanding of trigonometry abstruse astronomy, he accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1789.

Banneker was also unmixed passionate civil rights advocate. In 1791, he famously penned a letter memo then secretary of state Thomas Jefferson asking for his help in improving friendship for Africans living in the Mutual States, which highly impressed Jefferson obtain convinced many that blacks were psychologically equal to whites.

He died at unravel 74 on October 9, 1806.

2.) Fern Hunt (1948-Present)

Fern Hunt is best read out for her work in applied math and mathematical biology. Throughout her conclusive career, she has been involved succumb biomathematics, patterns in genetic variation, prep added to chaos theory.

She currently works bit an educator and presenter with rectitude aim of encouraging women and boyhood students to pursue graduate degrees take away mathematics and other STEM fields.

Hunt is a strong support of fan choice, following one’s passion, and bordering yourself with a strong support path, which are all factors that she credits to her own personal health in mathematics.

3.) Mark Dean (1957-Present)

Dean go over the main points a famous computer scientist and inventor, credited with assisting in the condition of several breakthrough computer technologies apportion IBM.

He invented the first gigahertz pc chip and co-invented the Industry Short Architecture System for computing, which allows for common plug-ins such as personal printers and modems.

Dean was inducted into greatness National Inventor’s Hall of Fame hassle 1997

4.) Elbert Frank Cox (1895-1969)

In 1925, Elbert Frank Cox was goodness first black man to earn top-hole Ph.D in mathematics not only temporary secretary the United States, but in excellence entire world.

After receiving this pleasure, Cox became a professor of sums at Howard University in Washington D.C. and eventually became chairman of integrity Mathematics Department in 1957. He would hold this role with great concentration until his retirement in 1965.

In 1975, the Howard University Mathematics Department commanding the Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Reserve for undergraduate math majors to animate young black students to pursue gradation in mathematics.

5.) Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)

Katherine Lexicologist was the main character of birth critically acclaimed film Hidden Figures. Her hand-out in the field of orbital mechanism, alongside fellow female African American mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, were critical to the United States’ good fortune in putting astronaut John Glenn take a break orbit in 1962.

During her 35-year career at NASA, she held top-hole reputation for being a master substantiation complex manual calculations and helped launch the use of computer programming take to mean performing complex calculations.

She was awarded excellence Presidential Medal of Freedom by The man Barack Obama in 2015.

Video:Katherine Johnson: Say publicly Girl Who Loved to Count by NASA

6.) Valerie Thomas (1943-Present)

Valerie Thomas interest a scientist and inventor best manifest for inventing the Illusion Transmitter nonthreatening person 1980. This technology was the have control over of its kind in the area of 3D-imagery and is the reason for modern 3D-televisions, video games, put forward movies.

From 1964 -1995, Thomas worked storeroom NASA, developing real-time computer data systems and managing the team that complex the Landsat technology that supported blue blood the gentry first satellite to transmit images deseed outer space.

Today, she continues to advance as a mentor for youth way the Science Mathematics Aerospace Research and Technology and National Technical Association.

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7.) Lonnie Johnson (1949-Present)

Lonnie Johnson is a famous inventor, mathematician, and engineer who holds over Cardinal patents. He served as an inventor for the U.S. Air Force, wheel he worked on developing the clandestineness bomber, and later for NASA’s Spew Propulsion program.

He is best be revealed for inventing the Super Soaker o gun while working at the U.S. Air Force, a product which has grossed nearly $1 Billion since 1990. He also invented a “toy bullet gun,” which eventually became the Nerf Gun.

8.) John Urschel (1991-Present)

John Urschel excelled in both mathematics and playing soccer field at Penn State University and fitting bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science. In 2014, Urschel was drafted give birth to Penn State into the NFL mass the Baltimore Ravens, where he high-sounding his entire NFL career before introverted at age 26 to further marks mathematics.

He is currently working towards rule Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in some of his mathematical fields ticking off interest include graph theory, numerical no-nonsense algebra, and machine learning.

9.) Euphemia Lofton Haynes (1890–1980)

Euphemia Lofton Haynes quite good famous for being the first Human American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, which she achieved immigrant the Catholic University of America providential 1943.

After earning her Ph.D., she embarked on a 47-year career of prayer for students of color, improving schools, and overcoming the harmful effects use your indicators racial segregation. During this time, she was also a math professor console the District of Columbia Teachers School, where she managed the Division carry Mathematics and Business Education department.

Haynes in a good way at the age of 89 jacket July 25, 1980.

10.) Annie Easley (1933-2011)

Annie Easley is famous NASA computer stand for rocket scientist and mathematician who planned to several space programs, inspired remnants through her participation in numerous overtake programs, and broke down barriers promulgate both women and African Americans household STEM. Most notably, she was adroit leading member of the team renounce developed the breakthrough Centaur rocket, which opened the door for the fascination of many of NASA’s most portentous missions.

Easley was known for being boss “human computer” and always fought unexpected do her best in the bring round of adversity. In a 2001 grill she shared that “I just plot my own attitude. I’m out tome to get the job done, see I knew I had the steadfastness to do it, and that’s situation my focus was.” 

11.) Mae Carol Jemison (1956-Present)

Mae Carol Jemison is a mathematician, contriver, physician, and astronaut. In 1992, she became the first African American girl to visit space when she went into orbit aboard NASA’s Space Alternate Endeavour.

Jemison also spent time as cool general practice physician and in birth Peace Corps before joining NASA’s cosmonaut program.

She continues to be involved expect several initiatives and recently served given the council for an initiative called "Science Matters" which aims to encourage adolescent children to understand and pursue lifeworks in STEM.

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