Valerie LaVerne Thomas, scientist, mathematician, physicist, and inventor, was born on February 1, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. Reared in the historic all-Black Cherry Hill community, Valerie’s parents were her first role models. They instilled in her the importance of education that resulted “in an inquiry-based … Read MoreValerie Thomas (1943- )
Lynika Strozier was a researcher, scientist and instructor. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama on August 28, 1984. At six months old, her mother brought her to Chicago, Illinois, and at six years old, Strozier went to live with her grandmother, Sharon Wright. By the … Read MoreLynika Sharlice Strozier (1984-2020)
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is an American viral immunologist currently involved in first-stage clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine. Corbett was born on January 26, 1986, in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina to Rhonda Brooks. She attended A.L. Stanback Middle School and Hillsborough High School. During high … Read MoreKizzmekia Shanta Corbett (1986- )
Wade Kornegay is largely regarded as a scientific expert in missile defense during the Cold War. Through his knowledge of physics, he aided in developing a system that could track ballistic missiles that simultaneously differentiated them based on their level of threat to the United … Read MoreWade Kornegay (1934- )
Through her work in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Evelyn J. Fields has broken barriers for women, African Americans, and African American women. Born January 29, 1949 in Norfolk, Virginia, Fields attended Booker T. Washington High School and then graduated from Norfolk State College in 1971 … Read MoreEvelyn J. Fields (1949- )
Hidden in the midst of a photograph of mostly male, white attendees at the 1971 International Conference on the Biology of Whales was one young African American woman. She was unnamed in the caption despite her presence there amongst experts in marine biology. Candace Jean … Read MoreSheila Minor Huff (1947- )
Bessie Virginia Blount, pioneer physical therapist, inventor, and scientist, was born in Hickory (today Chesapeake), Virginia, on November 24, 1914. In the sixth grade, she had to discontinue her elementary education, although she would later earn a GED after her family moved to New Jersey. She studied nursing at the Community … Read MoreBessie Blount Griffin (1914-2009)
George Washington Carver began life inauspiciously on the frontier of southwestern Missouri. Born a slave, the precise date, indeed, even the year, is unknown. He never knew either of his biological parents, but was raised by his former owners as if he were their own. … Read MoreGeorge Washington Carver (1864?-1943)
Warren M. Washington is a pioneering meteorologist and an expert in atmospheric science, climate research, and computer modeling of the earth’s climate. Washington was born in Portland, Oregon on August 28, 1936, to Edwin Washington Sr., a waiter and Pullman porter, and Dorothy Grace Morton, a practical nurse. Advised … Read MoreWarren M. Washington (1936- )
Marguerite Thomas Williams, born in 1895, was the first African American (male or female) to earn a Ph.D. in geology. Like Roger Arliner Young, Williams was mentored by African American biologist Ernest Everett Just. Williams earned her bachelor’s degree in geology from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1923. Just considered … Read MoreMarguerite Thomas Williams (1895-ca. 1991)
