Lillian K. Bradley
African-American mathematician
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Lillian Katie Bradley (October 15, 1921[1] – February 11, 1995[2]) was an American mathematician and mathematics educator who in 1960 became the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in any subject at the University of Texas at Austin.[1][3][4][5] She accomplished this ten years after African-Americans were first admitted to the school, despite the discriminatory views of R. L. Moore an influential professor in the mathematics department at University of Texas at Austin.[6]
Lillian Katie Bradley | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1921 |
| Died | February 11, 1995 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Mathematician |
| Years active | 1938 - ??? |
| Known for | Being the first black woman to receive a mathematics doctorate from the University of Texas |
Education
Bradley was born in Tyler, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1938 from Texas College, and a master's degree in mathematics education in 1946 from the University of Michigan.[1] She completed her doctorate at the University of Texas in July 1960.[3] Her dissertation, in mathematics education, was An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Collegiate General Mathematics Course.[7]
Career
Dr. Bradley held many teaching positions throughout her career. She was a teacher at a segregated Black high school in Hawkins, Texas. She also taught at Paul Quinn College, and at Texas College, before becoming an assistant professor of mathematics at Prairie View A&M College. There, in 1957–1958, she was awarded a National Science Faculty Fellowship, one of only 100 awarded in the inaugural year of the program.[3] In 1962 she moved from Prairie View to Texas Southern University, as an associate professor.[8]
Bradley died in February 1995 at the age of 76.[2]
