4 Famous Black Women Mathematicians in History

For most of history, women of all races have been shut out of the most prestigious universities and colleges. Only in the past couple of centuries have women begun to attend the same schools as men, with many of the most prestigious universities excluding women until well into the 21st century. Black women, who have had to contend with both sexism and racism, have been shut out of higher education for much longer. While the first white woman earned a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1886, it would be over 50 years later before a black woman could do the same.

1. Euphemia Lofton Haynes

Euphemia Lofton Haynes was born in 1890 in Washington D.C., the daughter of a dentist and financier.

She earned her undergraduate mathematics degree from Smith College in 1914, and continued her studies at the Catholic University of America. In 1943, she became the first African American woman to ever earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics.

Dr. Haynes continued to work in education throughout her life, teaching math and English in public high schools and colleges.

She was also involved in community service, serving on many boards and committees working for different social causes, including the NAACP and the League of Women Voters.

2. Gloria Ford Gilmer

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gloria Ford Gilmer earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Morgan State University before moving to to Wisconsin to join the University of Wisconsin-Madison doctoral program.

In 1956, Dr. Gilmer became the first African American woman to publish a mathematics research paper that was not a Ph.D. thesis. She left the university a year into the doctoral program to raise her family, but went back years later to earn a Ph.D. in Curriculum Instruction.

Dr. Gilmer has devoted much of her career and time to studying and working for African Americans in mathematics. She was one of the founding researchers of ethnomathematics, the study of how culture and mathematics intersect.

A pioneer in the field of math, she was also the first black woman to serve on the Mathematical Association of America’s board of governors, and served as the first president of the Executive Board of International Study Group on Ethnomathematics.

3. Grace Alele-Williams

Born in Warri, Nigeria in 1932, Grace Alele-Williams taught math in Nigeria before attending traveling to the United States to attend the University of Vermont in 1957, where she later became an assistant professor.

She became the first Nigerian woman to earn a doctorate when she earned her Ph.D. in Math Education from the University of Chicago in 1963. Upon returning to Nigeria, she became the first Nigerian woman to serve as head of a Nigerian University, as the vice-chancellor of the University of Benin.

Dr. Alele-Williams has helped in the development of Nigerian education throughout her career, serving on various boards and committees. She also wrote a book called Modern Mathematics Handbook for Teachers.

4. Vivienne Malone Mayes

Born in 1932, Vivienne Malone Mayes applied to continue her study of mathematics at Baylor University after earning a B.A. and a masters degree from Fisk University.

However, Baylor University rejected her application since they were a segregated school at the time.

Instead, she went to the University of Texas, where they had been required to desegregate by federal law.

In 1966, Dr. Mayes became the thirteenth African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics, and the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in any field at the University of Texas in Austin.