Georgia Caldwell Smith
Georgia Caldwell Smith | |
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Born |
Atchison, Kansas | September 28, 1909
Died | 6 May 1961 51) | (aged
Cause of death | Cancer |
Alma mater | |
Known for |
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Scientific career | |
Fields |
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Institutions |
Georgia Caldwell Smith (1909–1961) was one of the first African-American women to gain a bachelor's degree in mathematics.[1] When she was 50, she went on to earn one of the early PhDs in mathematics by an African-American women, awarded posthumously in 1961.[2][3] Smith was the head of the Department of Mathematics at Spelman College.[2][4]
Early life and education
Smith was born in Atchison, Kansas on 28 August 1909,[4] and attended segregated public schools.[2] She gained her A.B. from the University of Kansas in 1928, and a master's in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1929.[2][5]
Career
Smith was an assistant professor of mathematics oo the faculty of Spelman College from 1929 to 1938,[2][6] and then at Lincoln University (Missouri) until 1943 and Alabama State College.[2][7] She returned to Spelman in 1945 to take on the position of head of the Department of Mathematics.[6][5]
Smith undertook further study at the University of Minnesota and University of Georgia, gaining a National Science Foundation fellowship to work on her doctorate.[6] Smith completed her dissertation in 1960 at the University of Pittsburgh, titled Some results on the anticenter of a group.[8] Her supervisor was Norman Levine.[2][3]
Professional memberships included the Mathematical Association of America and the American Mathematical Society,[4] including participation in its 1948 meeting in New York.[9] Smith was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Mu Epsilon.[4][2]
Personal life
Smith was married to Dr. Barnett Frissell Smith, the head of Spelman's department of biology.[10][6] They had a son, Barnett F. Smith Jr.[6] She died on 6 May 1961,[11] before her PhD was conferred posthumously in June.[12]
References
- ↑ Jordan, [interviews by] Diann (2007). Sisters in science : conversations with black women scientists about race, gender, and their passion for science. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press. ISBN 1-55753-445-4.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Warren, Wini (1999). Black women scientists in the United States. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.]: Indiana University Press. pp. 254–255. ISBN 0253336031.
- 1 2 Georgia Caldwell Smith at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- 1 2 3 4 Sammons, Vivian Ovelton (1990). Blacks in science and medicine. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp. p. 215. ISBN 0891166653.
- 1 2 Atlanta University Catalogs. Atlanta, Ga: Atlanta University. 1946. p. 10. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Mrs. G. Smith, Spelman Prof., Succumbs". The Pittsburgh Courier. 20 May 1961. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ Johnson, Toki Schalk (14 February 1959). "The world and Toki Types". The Pittsburgh Courier. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ Smith, Georgia Caldwell (1960). Some results on the anticenter of a group. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ Kline, JR (1948). "The February meeting in New York". Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 54 (5): 461–479. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ "(Notices)". The Crisis. 52 (12): 342. December 1945.
- ↑ Scrivener, Olivia A (10 July 2006). The Politics of Particularism: HBCUs, Spelman College, and the Struggle to Educate Black Women in Science, 1950–1997. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Tech.
- ↑ University of Pittsburgh (1961). Commencement. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 9 April 2017.