David Blackwell
David Harold Blackwell was an African American mathematician and statistician. He contributed too many fields, including dynamic programming, game theory, measure theory, probability theory, information theory, and mathematical statistics. Furthermore, he had a great talent for making things appear simple, regardless of how complicated it appeared. Blackwell became one of greatest African-American mathematicians.
David Harold Blackwell was born April 24, 1919, in Centralia, Illinois. He was the oldest of four children born to Grover Blackwell and his wife, Mabel. His father had a fourth-grade education, and worked for the railroad. His mother dropped out of school during her sophomore year and was a housewife.
Dr. Blackwell grew up in an integrated community. He attended “mixed” schools, where he consumed himself in mathematics. However, algebra and trigonometry were boring to him. Moreover, in his high school geometry class, he discovered his passion for …show more content…
Blackwell earned his doctorate in math in 1941, at the age of 22. Although, he did not experience much discrimination he did believe that a white college would ever hire him. Therefore, he applied to 104 black colleges. From 1942 to 1944 Blackwell taught at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Howard University, District of Columbia later becoming a department head. Blackwell joined the University of California Berkeley faculty in 1954 and was the first black professor in campus history. Even more, he later chaired the Department of Statistics, one of the world’s top centers for mathematical statistics. He served as president in 1955 by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He also became the first African-American elected to the National Academy of
David Harold Blackwell was an African American mathematician and statistician. He contributed too many fields, including dynamic programming, game theory, measure theory, probability theory, information theory, and mathematical statistics. Furthermore, he had a great talent for making things appear simple, regardless of how complicated it appeared. Blackwell became one of greatest African-American mathematicians.
David Harold Blackwell was born April 24, 1919, in Centralia, Illinois. He was the oldest of four children born to Grover Blackwell and his wife, Mabel. His father had a fourth-grade education, and worked for the railroad. His mother dropped out of school during her sophomore year and was a housewife.
Dr. Blackwell grew up in an integrated community. He attended “mixed” schools, where he consumed himself in mathematics. However, algebra and trigonometry were boring to him. Moreover, in his high school geometry class, he discovered his passion for …show more content…
Blackwell earned his doctorate in math in 1941, at the age of 22. Although, he did not experience much discrimination he did believe that a white college would ever hire him. Therefore, he applied to 104 black colleges. From 1942 to 1944 Blackwell taught at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Howard University, District of Columbia later becoming a department head. Blackwell joined the University of California Berkeley faculty in 1954 and was the first black professor in campus history. Even more, he later chaired the Department of Statistics, one of the world’s top centers for mathematical statistics. He served as president in 1955 by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He also became the first African-American elected to the National Academy of