Dudley Weldon Woodard facts for kids
Dudley Weldon Woodard was an amazing American mathematician and professor. He was born in Galveston on October 3, 1881. He was the second African-American person to earn a special high-level degree in mathematics called a PhD. His mentor, Elbert Frank Cox, was the first to achieve this.
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Dudley Weldon Woodard: A Math Pioneer
His Journey in Education
Dudley Woodard went to Wilberforce University in Ohio and earned his first degree in 1903. He then studied at the University of Chicago, getting two more degrees in 1906 and 1907. For many years, he taught college-level math in Tuskegee. Later, he earned his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1928. His special PhD paper was about a math topic called On Two-Dimensional Analysis Situs with Special Reference to the Jordan Curve Theorem. His professor, John Robert Kline, helped him with this important work.
Breaking Barriers in Math
During his life, Woodard published three important math papers. One of these, called The Characterization of the Closed N-Cell, was published in a math journal called Fundamenta Mathematicae in 1929. According to a math professor named Scott Williams, this was the very first paper published in a respected math journal by an African American.
Woodard also wrote other things. In 1909, he published a study about Jackson, Mississippi for a group working to help African Americans. He also wrote a textbook called Practical Arithmetic in 1911. In 1913, he wrote an article about how geometry was taught at Tuskegee.
Inspiring Students at Howard
Woodard was a highly respected mathematician, professor, and mentor to his students. He taught at Howard University in Washington D.C. There, he started a special program for students to earn master's degrees in mathematics. One of his most famous students was William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor. Claytor later earned his own PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1933, also with help from Woodard's former advisor, John R. Kline.
His Lasting Impact
Dudley Woodard retired in 1947. By then, he had become the head of the mathematics department at Howard University. He passed away on July 1, 1965, at his home in Cleveland, Ohio. He was 83 years old. His work helped open doors for future African-American mathematicians.
