Celebrating Black History Month
William Dammond
William Dammond was an educator and civil engineer that was known for his hatred towards railroad accidents! He was the first African-American graduate of the University of Pittsburg and graduated with honors.
Archie Alexander
Archie Alexander was an engineer, architect and mathematician. Archie earned the nickname “Archie the Great” at the University of Iowa, where he was the first African American to graduate from their engineering program.
Elijah McCoy
At just 15 years old, Elijah McCoy ventured to Scotland and came back with a degree in Mechanical Engineering! Within his lifetime, he held 57 patents and invented many well-known popular products including an automatic lubrication system for steam engines.
Howard P. Grant
Well known in California Howard P. Grant was a man of many 'firsts.' He was the first black graduate of University of California Berkeley College of Engineering, the first black engineer of San Francisco, as well as the first black member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
George Biddle Kelley
George Biddle Kelley attended Cornell University from 1905-1908, earning a degree in Civil Engineering. He was a founding member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, as well as the fraternity’s first president. The Alpha Phi Alpha is the oldest black Greek fraternal organization!
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Dorothy Vaughan
Dorothy Vaughan was a math teacher in Farmville, Virginia and joined the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory part-time in 1943. An abundance of data led to Vaughan obtaining a full-time job at the laboratory.
Mary Jackson
Mary Jackson graduated from her high school with top marks and continued on to get her bachelor’s degree in Science from the Hampton Institute. She started off teaching, before taking a job at NASA.
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson proved her promising intelligence early on, being moved up several grades beyond her peers, and graduated at the early age of just 13! She graduated West Virginia University with the high honors and went on to be a teacher. When the college integrated its graduate schools, Johnson was picked along with 2 other men to hold a spot at the school.
Vice President Kamala Harris
Kamal Harris is the first Black female Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.
Hattie Scott Peterson
Believed to be the first African American women to obtain a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Hattie Scott Peterson graduated from Howard University in 1946. Following her degree, Hattie worked for the U.S. Geological Survey as a survey and cartographic engineer.
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She was also the first black woman to run for President of the United States.
