Garnet Douglass Baltimore was the first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was an accomplished landscape engineer who made a huge impact on his hometown of Troy, New York. Baltimore’s most notable contribution to Troy was Prospect Park, which is an 84-acre … Read MoreGarnet Douglass Baltimore (1859-1946)
If you have flown on a commercial airliner in recent years, chances are you benefited from the engineering and computer science expertise of Walt Braithwaite. During his almost four decades at The Boeing Company (Boeing), Braithwaite helped transform the field of aerospace design from a manual time-consuming process to … Read MoreWalt Braithwaite (1945- )
Josef Nassy was an Afro-Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor. Born on January 19, 1904 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch Guiana), he was one of seven children born to Adolf Philipus Nassy, a prosperous Jewish businessman who was elected to the Surinam Parliament, and Elisabeth Carolina Natalia Nassy (born de Maesschalk), … Read MoreJosef Johan Cosmo Nassy (1904-1976)
Richard Bowie Spikes was a prolific inventor with eight patents to his name, awarded between 1907 and 1946. Primarily interested in automobile mechanics, Spikes also sought to improve the operation of items as varied as barber chairs and trolley cars. Professionally, he worked as a mechanic, … Read MoreRichard Spikes (1878-1965)
Mary Winston Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which would later become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Jackson was born on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, Virginia, to Ella and Frank Winston. She … Read MoreMary Winston Jackson (1921–2005)
Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a teacher who became a leading mathematical engineer in the first aerospace program with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and the first African American woman promoted to supervisor in the program. Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on … Read MoreDorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910-2008)
Image Courtesy of LDS Church News David William Eka, engineer, elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), first president of the Aba Nigeria stake, was born in Etinan, Nigeria, on May 20, 1945. His father, William Udo, was a carpenter, and … Read MoreDavid W. Eka (1945– )
Stephanie Diana Wilson is an American NASA astronaut, engineer, and is the second African American woman to go into space, following Mae Jemison. Wilson was born September 27, 1966, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1984 she graduated from Taconic High School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and four … Read MoreStephanie Diana Wilson (1966- )
McKinley Thompson, the first major African American auto car designer, was born on November 8, 1922, in New York City, New York. As a child, Thompson was intrigued with automobiles. In an oral history interview in 2001, he discussed the first time he had seen … Read MoreMcKinley Thompson (1922-2006)
Robert Frederick Smith is best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a multi-billion-dollar private equity and wealth management company that employs over thirty thousand people around the world and focuses on the growth of firms that develop enterprise software. Forbes … Read MoreRobert F. Smith (1962- )
