12 Important African American Scientists (2024)

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Who is a famous African-American scientists? ›

From well-known Black scientists, such as George Washington Carver, to James West, who coinvented the microphone, to those whose impressive scientific records have nearly languished in obscurity, our list will have you rethinking what else might be left out of your history textbook.

Marie Daly was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the United States. After she earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Queens College in 1942, Daly completed her master's degree at New York University in only one year.

Meet Benjamin Banneker

Banneker (1731-1806) was the son of freed slaves who had long suffered under the laws of slavery and indentured servitude. In spite of these obstacles, Banneker pursued education wherever he could find it and learned to read and write, which was uncommon among African-American youth at the time.

George Washington Carver: Perhaps the most well-known Black American food pioneer is George Washington Carver. A scientist, educator, conservationist, artist, and humanitarian, Carver was born into slavery in 1864.

This article commemorates Dr James McCune Smith, the first Black person from the US to earn a medical degree, who has been called the foremost Black intellectual in the 19th-century US.

George Washington Carver 1864-1943 €“ Born into slavery during the Civil War, George Washington Carver came to be one of the most celebrated botanists and inventors of his time.

Physicist Hattie Carwell was born on July 17, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York. Carwell grew up in a nurturing black community in Ashland, Virginia, which encouraged her interest in science.

Who is the black guy who is a scientist? ›

George Washington Carver

Carver became interested in botany and eventually became the first African American to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree in science upon graduation from Iowa State University. Soon after graduation, Booker T. Washington offered Carver a position at Tuskegee University.

Generally, when people think of famous African-American inventors, one of the first names that springs to mind is George Washington Carver. Perhaps most famously, Carver discovered over 300 different uses for peanuts – including making cooking oil, axle grease and printer's ink.

To name just a few of these 1,001 inventions, Africans and African Americans have invented the paper bag, vending machines, telephone transmitters for long distance phone calls, the ironing board, traffic lights, safety helmets, Ajax, the mop, gas masks, air conditioning, aspirin, the bicycle, the fountain pen, ...

Three African-American inventors we know about are Benjamin Banneker, James Forten and George Peake. They all lived in the 1700s and they were all born free. Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731. He taught himself math and became a mathematician.

Emeagwali also ranked as the greatest African scientist ever. The technology category was topped by Imhotep, the multi-genius that designed Egypt 's first pyramid. The science category was topped by Emeagwali famed for helping give birth to the supercomputer, the technology that gave rise to the Internet.

George Washington Carver 1864-1943 €“ Born into slavery during the Civil War, George Washington Carver came to be one of the most celebrated botanists and inventors of his time.

For Black History Month, Boulevard would like to shed light on three individuals that have made an impact to society through their use of data science, visualization, and analytics and have revolutionized the world through their achievement: Katherine Johnson, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Valerie Thomas.

George Washington Carver (1861-1943)

Born a slave in 1861, George Washington Carver went on to become one of the most prolific agri-business inventors in American history. He invented crop rotation, and more than 300 uses for the peanut. including Worcestershire sauce, cooking oil, and cosmetics.