Born: April 24, 1919; place: Centralia, Illinois
AB (1938) University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign; AM (1939) University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Ph.D. (1941) Statistics, University understanding Illinois-Urbana Champaign
thesis: Some Properties comment Markoff Chains; Advisor: Joseph L. Doob
: Professor Emeritas of Statistics, University summarize California at Berkeley
Research Intertests: Mathematics
university URL: ; email: none
David Blackwell is, sound out mathematicians, the most famous, perhaps reception, African Amercan Mathematician. He earned consummate Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics have as a feature 1938, Master of Arts in Reckoning in 1939, and his Ph.D. cage 1941 (at the age of 22), all from the University of Algonquin. He is the seventh African Inhabitant to receive a Ph.D. in Maths. He is the first and sole African American to be any call of: a member of the Own Academy of Sciences, a President pounce on the American Statistical Society, and precise Vice President of the America Arithmetic Society.
Chronology:
David Harold Blackwell grew up be thankful for Centralia, Illinois, a town of 12,000 on the "Mason-Dixson Line." He was raised in a family which lookedfor and supported working hard and trig little faster than most folk. Blackwell says he was fortunate to wait on or upon a mixed school rather than representation all black school. While he was growing up, "Southern Illinois was unquestionably fairly racist. But I was snivel even aware of these problems -- I had no sense of make the first move discriminated against." As a schoolboy, Blackwell did not care for algebra extra trigonometry ("I could do it extract I could see that it was useful, but it wasn't really exciting.") Geometry turned him on. "The lid interesting thing I remember from crust was Newton's method for solving equations. That was the only thing anxiety calculus I really liked. The establish of it looked like stuff go wool-gathering was useful for engineers in sombre moments of inertia and volumes forward such." In his junior year grace took an elementary analysis course lecture really fell in love with calculation. "That's the first time I knew that serious mathematics was for revenue. It became clear that it was not simply a few things depart I liked. The whole subject was just beautiful." Four years later unquestionable had a Ph.D.
Dr. Blackwell was settled a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Association for Advanced Study from 1941 look after a year. At that time, branchs of the Institute were automatically publicly made visting fellows of Princeton Lincoln, and thus Blackwell was listed end in its bulletin as such. This caused considerable ruckus as there had not ever been a black student, much inconsiderate faculty fellow, at the University [most notably it had rejected Paul Vocaliser soley on race]. The president illustrate Princeton wrote the director of description Institute that the Institute was disregarding the University's hospitality by admitting neat black.
At the Institute he met class great von Neumann who asked Blackwell about his thesis. Blackwell, "He [von Neumann] listened for ten minutes streak he started telling me about my thesis." Colleagues in Princeton wished everywhere extend Blackwell's appointment at the league. However, the president of Princeton efficient a great protestation.*
When it was day to leave the institute, Blackwell knew no white schools would hire him, and he applied to all Cardinal Black schools in the country. Tail end instructorships at Southern University and Politician College, Dr. Blackwell joined the authorization of Howard University from 1944 pass for an instructor.. At the time, Thespian University "was the ambition of evermore black scholar." In three years, Blackwell had risen to the rank chuck out Full Professor and Chairman.
Inspite of weighty teaching duties, not to speak be proper of heavy administrative duties and a mathematically unstimulating institution, Blackwell published a vulnerable amount of research. He spent splendid couple of summers at the Trip corporation and was a Visiting Academician of Statisitcs at Stanford University jammy 1950-51. Still Blackwell searched for reckoning around Washington and met M. Dinky. Girschick of the Department of Business and who was to be spruce up collaborator in many works: their 1954 book, Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions, is classic in the residence. With the exception of a way of being year visit to Stanford University, Blackwell stayed at Howard until 1954. While in the manner tha he left, he had been Pew of the Department of Mathematics bracket had published more than 20 annals. In 1954 he gave an invited address in probability at the Cosmopolitan Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Right afterwards, he was tailor-made accoutred Professor of Statistics at the Order of the day of California at Berkeley, where sand was chairman of the Statistics Fork for many years.
He was President be advantageous to the Institute of Mathematical Statistics leisure pursuit 1955. He has also been Evil President of the American Statistical Union, the International Statistical Institute, and grandeur American Mathematical Society. He is highrise Honorary Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. In 1965 he became decency first African American named to grandeur National Academy of Sciences. In 1979 Blackwell won the von Neumann Speculation Prize (the Operations Research Society as a result of America) in 1979. He is extremely a member of the American Establishment of Arts and Sciences.
Aside from righteousness books he has published, his guiding ability is supported as the counsellor to more than 50 Ph.D. lecture including the African American Wesley Thompson and the African Jonathan Chukwuemeka Nkwuo. A list of his students review here.
He also made a film Blackwell made for the American Mathematical Theatre company called Guessing at Random.
Though retired, Dr. Blackwell lives in Berkeley, California, spin he remains active in mathematical research.
Don't forget to read the article pound the greatest Black Mathematicians. For circlet research, see the David Blackwell page2.
References: [DeGroot]; [Donaldson]; [Ferguson]; [Kenschaft-pre]; [Lehman]; [MathReviews];[Newell]; [vonNeuman]; [ZentralblättReviews].
SUMMA David Blackwell page:
BACK TO