People, Locations, Episodes

E. Oscar Woolfolk, Chemist and Professor born

*E. Oscar Woolfolk was born on this date in 1912.  He was a Black chemist and Professor.  From Tupelo, Mississippi, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Talladega College, Alabama, in 1934 and a Master of Science from Ohio State University in 1939. Ten years later, he earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University […]

Jasper Jeffries, Physicist born

*Jasper B Jeffries was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black physicist and teacher.  Jasper Brown Jeffries was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the eldest child of Brown and Edna Jeffries. He had three younger brothers, Carl, Hubert, and Robert. Jeffries earned his B.S. degree in 1933 from West Virginia State College […]

Edwin Russell, Chemist born

Edwin R. Russell was born on this date in 1913. He was a Black chemist and professor.  Edwin Roberts Russell was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He earned a B.A. from Benedict College in 1935 and an M.A. in Chemistry from Howard University in 1937. From 1936 to 1942, Russell served as a chemistry assistant […]

Henry McBay, Scientist, and Educator born

On this date in 1914, Henry McBay was born. He was an African American scientist and educator.

Henry Ransom Cecil McBay was from Mexia, TX. He received a Bachelor of Science from Wiley College in 1934, a Master of Science from Atlanta University in 1936, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1945. He was an instructor of chemistry at Wiley College from 1936 to 1938, then an instructor at Western University, Kansas City. In 1944 and 1945, he won the Elizabeth Norton prize at the University of Chicago for outstanding research in chemistry.

Bessie Blount, Inventor, and Forensic Scientist born

On this date, we mark the birth of Bessie Blount in 1914, an African American inventor and forensic scientist.

She was born in Hickory, Virginia. Little else is known of her family or her childhood except that she had long wanted to work in the medical field. Blount left home and traveled north to New Jersey to become a physical therapist. She studied at both Panzar College of Physical Education and at Union Junior College. Then she moved to Chicago where she finished her training.

Archie Williams, Athlete, Educator, and Engineer, born

Archie Williams was born on this date in 1915. He was an African American athlete and teacher.

Born in Oakland, CA, Williams attended San Mateo Junior College (now College of San Mateo). His coach, Dr. Oliver Byrd, was instrumental in preparing him for future achievements. Soon Williams transferred to the University of California-Berkeley to become a mechanical engineer. He continued to run track.

Henry A. Hill, Chemist born

This date marks the birth of Henry Aaron Hill in 1915. He was an African American chemist and scientist.

Born in St. Joseph, N.C., he completed a B.A. at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. in 1936, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1942. In 1961, he became president and founder of the Riverside Research Laboratory.

Carolyn B. Parker, Physicist, and Professor born

*Carolyn Parker was born on this date in 1917.  She was a Black physicist and professor.  Carolyn Beatrice Parker was born in Gainesville, Florida. Her father, Julius A. Parker, was a successful physician and pharmacist who graduated from Meharry Medical College, the first medical school for Blacks in the South. Her mother was Della Ella […]

Lloyd Noel Ferguson, Chemist born

*Lloyd Noel Ferguson was born on this date in 1918. He was an African American chemist, author and educator.

Lloyd Quarterman, Chemist born

*Lloyd Quarterman was born on this date in 1918. He was a Black chemist and scientist. Born in Philadelphia, Lloyd Albert Quarterman developed an interest in chemistry from a young age, partly by using toy chemistry sets his parents gave him. He attended St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he developed a reputation […]

David Blackwell, Math Professor born

David Blackwell was born on this date in 1919. He was an African American mathematician and professor.

David Harold Blackwell grew up in Centralia, Illinois, a town on the “Mason-Dixon Line.” He was raised in a family which expected and supported working hard. As a schoolboy, Blackwell did not care for algebra and trigonometry.

Samuel Massie, Chemist, and Teacher born

Samuel Massie, a brilliant African American chemist and teacher, was born on this date in 1919.

Jane Cooke Wright, Cancer Researcher born

*On this date 1919, Jane Cooke Wright was born. She was an African American doctor and cancer researcher.

Carl Fraction, Minnesota Chemist born

Carl Fraction was born on this date in 1919. He was an African American microbiologist, scientist, and photographer.

Carl Harrison Fraction was born in St. Paul, MN, to James and Opal Fraction, one of six siblings. When he was young, the family moved to Iowa. Carl graduated from Des Moines North High School in 1937, where he played in the high school band.

Fraction enlisted in the Air Force and was discharged in 1945, but he later contracted tuberculosis. While in the Air Force, he learned photography.

Blanche Lawrence, Chemist born

*Blanche Lawrence was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black research chemist. Lawrence received her bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University. Lawrence worked as a research assistant in the Chicago Met Lab’s health division during the Manhattan Project. She was the widow of Tuskegee Airman Capt Erwin Lawrence of the 99th Pursuit Squadron. […]