People, Locations, Episodes

George Alcorn, Physicist born

*George Alcorn was born on this date in 1940. He is a Black physicist and inventor. George Edward Alcorn is the son of George and Arletta Dixon Alcorn in Indianapolis, Indiana.  His father was an auto mechanic who sacrificed so Alcorn and his brother could get an education. Alcorn attended Occidental College in Pasadena, California, where he maintained an excellent academic […]

Wangarĩ Maathai, Environmental Activist born

*Wangarĩ Maathai was born on this date in 1940. She was a Black Kenyan social, environmental justice, and political activist.   Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was born in Ihithe, Nyeri District, in the central highlands of Kenya. Her family is Kikuyu, the most populous ethnic group in Kenya, and has lived in the area for several […]

Franklin McCain, STEM Administrator and Activist born.

*Franklin McCain was born on this date in 1941. He was an African American Chemical Administrator, Civil Rights leader and one of the Greensboro Four.

George Washington Carver Recognition Day is Celebrated

On this date in 1943, George Washington Carver Day was established

Ronald Mickens, Physicist born

*Ronald Mickens, a Black physicist, author, and educator, was born on this date in 1943.   Ronald Elbert Mickens is the son of Joseph and Daisy Mickens, who live in Petersburg, VA. He spent much of his youth with his grandparents, and James Williamson introduced him to science. Mickens graduated from Peabody High School, taking algebra, […]

Valerie L. Thomas, Physicist, and Inventor born

*Valerie Thomas, a Black scientist (physics) and inventor, was born on this date in 1943. Valerie L. Thomas was born in Baltimore, MD. As a child, she was interested in science after observing her father tinkering with the television and seeing the mechanical parts inside the TV. At the age of eight, she read The Boys’ […]

Henry Grooms, Aerospace Engineer born

*Henry R. Grooms was born on this date in 1944. He is a Black aerospace engineer. He is the son of Leonard D. Grooms and Lois Pickell Grooms from Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up wanting to be an architect but built space vehicles. How he got there is interesting: “I realized that my strong points […]

S. James Gates Jr., Physicist born

*S. James Gates Jr. was born on this date in 1950. He is a Black theoretical physicist who works on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory.   Sylvester James Gates Jr. is the oldest of four siblings; he was born in Tampa, Florida, the son of Sylvester James Gates, Sr., a career U.S. Army veteran, and […]

Ernest Levert, Engineer born

*Ernest Levert was born on this date in 1954. He is a Black welding engineer and material science engineer. His parents were William and Gertrude Levert. Ernest D. Levert grew up in Cleveland and attended Max S. Hayes High School. As a sophomore, he interned with NASA at the John H. Glenn Research Center. He […]

Marian Croak, Inventor and Engineer born.

*Marian Croak was born on May 14, 1955. She is a Black engineer and inventor known for her voice-over IP (VoIP) related inventions. Dr. Marian Rogers Croak was born and raised in New York City. She credits her lifelong interest in technology to her father. While he did not have formal education beyond elementary school, […]

Mark Dean, Computer Scientist born

*Mark Dean was born this date in 1957. He is an African American computer scientist.

From Jefferson City, Tennessee, Dean’s grandfather was a high school principal; his father was a supervisor at the Tennessee Valley Authority Dam. As a boy, he and his father built a tractor from scratch. He recalled growing up that one white friend in sixth grade asked if he was really black. His friend had concluded Dean was too smart to be black. Dean was one of the few black students attending Jefferson City (Tenn.) High School. He was both a fine athlete and a straight-A student.

The Math Artifact, Ishango Bone is Discovered

*National Pi Day is marked on this date in 1988. This is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.

Kimberly Bryant, Electrical Engineer born

*Kimberly Bryant was born on this date in 1967. She is a Black electrical engineer and an expert in biotechnology. Bryant was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, by a single mother amidst the Civil Rights Movement. She is self-described as a “nerdy girl,” excelling in mathematics and science in school. She earned a scholarship […]

Lynnae Quick, Geophysics Scientist born.

*The birth of Lynnae Quick is celebrated on this date in 1984. She is a Black planetary geophysicist and Ocean Worlds Planetary Scientist. Lynnae C. Quick was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, and graduated from James Benson Dudley High School. In high school, she became interested in astronomy after learning about the death […]