DID YOU KNOW? for April 12 - 25, 2022:  

Did You Know…Gladys Mae West is a “Hidden Figure behind your phone’s GPS.” West is an American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematical modeling of the shape of the earth, and her work on the development of satellite geodesy models that were eventually incorporated into global positioning systems (GPS).

As a studious Black girl in rural Virginia, West earned a scholarship to Virginia State College where she completed her first degree in math in 1952. She was eventually hired by the U.S. Naval Proving Ground where she combined information from Seasat and other satellites to refine an increasingly detailed and accurate mathematical model of the actual shape of the earth – called a “geoid.” This computational modeling would prove essential to modern GPS.

GPS technology relies on mathematical models to accurately calculate the position of the receiver, a technology now embedded in a wide range of tracking and guidance devices.

Gladys Mae West was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018 to honor her many contributions to science and technology.

Learn more…

Meet Dr. Gladys West by Lauren Mackenzie Reynolds in Massive Science, December 25, 2019

and

"Gladys West, American Mathematician" in Britannica.com:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gladys-West

DID YOU KNOW? for March 29 - April 11, 2022:  

Did You Know…Phillis Wheatley Peters (also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly) was the first African-American author of a published book of poetry.

At the age of 7 or 8 (in approx.1760) she was sold into slavery to the Wheatley family of Boston.  Young Phillis learned to read and write and began penning poetry. Seeing her talent, the Wheatley’s encouraged her work and in 1773 sent her to London where she connected with supportive patrons and publishers.

The London publication of her “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” on September 1,1773 brought Phillis recognition in England and the American colonies. Phillis was freed by the Wheatley family shortly after her book’s publication.

Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Wheatley

DID YOU KNOW? for March 15 - 28, 2022:  

Did You Know… Ellen Eglin, born in Washington, D.C in 1849, worked as a government clerk, and for a while as a housekeeper. However she earned a place in history books as the inventor in of the clothes wringer, a laundry aid that used 2 rollers and a crank handle to squeeze out excess water and noticeably sped-up clothes washing and drying in the late 19th century.

As a Black woman, Eglin couldn’t get a patent on her own in 1888, so she sold the rights to her invention to an agent for just $18, and made no further profit from her brainchild. In an 1891 interview Eglin indicated another reason she didn’t try for a patent on her invention, saying, “…if it was known that a negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the wringer.”

Eglin’s wringer design was later manufactured and very successfully marketed for decades by the American Wringer Company.

Learn more…

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/ellen-eglin-1849/

DID YOU KNOW? for March 1 - 14, 2022:  

Jessie Isabelle Price, was a veterinary microbiologist who studied and worked at the Cornell University Duck Research Laboratory where she identified the cause of the most common life-threatening disease in duck farming in the 1950’s.  She then developed preventive vaccines for this and several other avian diseases.

Price, a black woman, was highly praised for her work in vaccine development which greatly aided commercial duck, turkey, and pigeon farming. She relocated to Madison, Wisconsin in 1977 to work as a research microbiologist at the National Wildlife Health Center, where she focused on diseases in waterfowl and environmental contaminants.

Price was born in western Pennsylvania in 1930 and raised by her mother under difficult financial circumstances. They relocated to Ithaca, New York when Jessie was accepted at Cornell University, where she then earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees.

Price's professional accomplishments led to recognitions internationally and in the U.S.  She served leadership roles in the American Society for Microbiology and Graduate Women in Science.

Learn more about Jessie Isabelle Price at...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Isabelle_Price 

DID YOU KNOW? for February 15 - 28, 2022:  

World War II Navajo code talker Thomas Begay was a teenager playing football near his high school in New Mexico when he heard news of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. As soon as he could, he went to a recruiting office to join the Marines. Because he was only 17 he had to go home and return with his mother to give permission for his enlistment. This was just the start of his lifelong commitment to public service.

Begay, now in his late 90’s, is one of only 4 men still alive among the 400-plus Navajo code talkers from World War II. Over 3 dozen of this elite group were either wounded or killed during the war. Their war activities were considered classified and they were forbidden from speaking about them for almost 3 decades.

Learn more about Thomas Begay’s life journey, including his time on Iwo Jima in World War II, his military service in the Korean War, and his decades of service with the Bureau of Indian Affairs at:  https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-2021/pearl-harbor-thomas-begay.html

DID YOU KNOW? for February 1 - 13, 2022:  

Did You Know...Dr. Charles E. Anderson was the first black man to receive a PhD in Meteorology (MIT, 1960) and first black man to earn tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a Dean at UW-Madison (in the 1970’s and 1980’s), pioneered research and work that involved minimizing contrails of high-altitude aircrafts, worked extensively as a leading expert on severe storms and tornadoes, and made discoveries in the meteorology of other planets.

Dr. Anderson was not only a distinguished scientist and meteorologist, but also an African American Studies scholar and teacher, serving a Professor of Afro-American Studies for several years at UW-Madison.

Learn more….

After leaving UW-Madison in 1987, Dr. Anderson was a professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC until he retired in 1990. He was a major contributor at NC State to a program focused on the forecasting of severe storms that received national recognition. Anderson's exemplary career as a scientist, leader, and mentor inspired the American Meteorological Society to establish an award named in his honor in 2000.

For further reading about Charles E. Anderson:

https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/weather/2021/02/24/life-of-charles-e-anderson

DID YOU KNOW? for January 18 - 31, 2022:  

Did You Know…Zaila Avant-Garde, 14 years old, spelled “m-u-r-r-a-y-a”, a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees, to clinch a victory at last year’s (2021) Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Avant-Garde is the first Black American champion in the competition’s 96 year history.  Spelling is not Avant-Garde’s only talent...

Zaila also holds 3 Guinness World Records for basketball.  Her 2021 spelling  triumph marks the return of the annual Scripps National Spelling competition, which did not happen in 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

Learn more….

DID YOU KNOW? for January 4 - 17, 2022:  

Did You Know…The inventor of the first home security system was Marie Van Brittan Brown, a black woman from New York.  She is also credited with the invention of the first closed circuit television.  The patent for the invention was filed in 1966 and it later influenced modern home security systems that are still used today. 

Learn more….
Marie Van Brittan Brown's invention was inspired by the security risk that her home faced in the neighborhood where she lived.  Marie Brown worked as a nurse and her husband, Albert Brown, worked as an electronics technician.  Her original invention was comprised of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone.  The final element was an alarm button that could be pressed to contact the police immediately.  (Black Past, April 11, 2016)

DID YOU KNOW? for December 13 - 27, 2021:  

Did You Know…Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink of Hawaii, was the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress.  She was also the first Asian-American to run for President.

Learn more….

Mink is known for writing bills like Title IX (later named the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act), the Early Childhood Education Act, and Women’s Educational Equity Act.   Prior to her legislative experience, she faced discrimination in college, while applying to medical school and attempting to find employment after graduation from law school.  Starting her own firm, Mink became the first Japanese-American woman to practice law in Hawaii.  She successfully served on many committees while in Congress, including the Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and the Budget Committee.

For further reading about Patsy Mink:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/patsy-mink and https://www.biography.com/political-figure/patsy-mink

DID YOU KNOW? for November 30 - December 13, 2021:  

DID YOU KNOW... An enslaved African man, Onesimus taught Cotton Mather how to inoculate against smallpox. The concept of immunization came to the American colonies via Africa. In the early 1700s, Puritan minister Cotton Mather learned from Onesimus, a man he enslaved, about a method long used in West Africa, where a weakened form of the disease would be intentionally applied to a cut.

Learn more…
https://www.history.com/news/smallpox-vaccine-onesimus-slave-cotton-mather