MATHMETICIANS
~Great Discovery of The Minds~

Elbert Frank Cox (December 5, 1895–November 28, 1969) was an American mathematician who became the first black person in the world to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics. He spent most of his life as a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was known as an excellent teacher. During his life, he overcame various difficulties which arose because of his race. In his honor, the National Association of Mathematicians established the Cox-Talbert-Address, which is annually handed out at the NAM's national meetings. The Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund, which is used to help black students pursue studies, is named in his honor as well.




Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731–October 9, 1806) was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer.




Vivienne Mayes Malone's struggle to study mathematics:

Vivienne Mayes went to University of Texas after her application for admission to graduate school at Baylor was rejected. But after graduating, she was the first black, male or female, to be hired at Baylor and put on the tenure track. In 1986 she celebrated her 20th year of teaching at Baylor, Ms Mayes says she has seen a lot of firsts and a lot of changes.

"I never dreamed when I was a child that things would have changed so much when I was a young adult," she said. The civil rights movement was at its height during the years she was in graduate school, 1962-66, and she recalls joining picket lines to force restaurants and movie theaters to admit blacks.

"Attitudes have changed so much," she said. "When I made a low grade, I felt I'd let down 11
million people. That's a heavy burden. Every professor stereotyped blacks by my performance. You felt like you had no choice but to excel."

Charles Babbage originated the modern analytic computer. By 1834 he invented the principle of the analytical engine, the forerunner of the modern electronic computer.

In 1830 he published "Reflections on the Decline of Science in England", a controversial work that resulted in the formation, one year later, of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1834 Babbage published his most influential work "On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures", in which he proposed an early form of operational research.