Marjorie Lee Browne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marjorie Lee Browne
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| Born | September 9, 1914 |
| Died | October 19, 1979 (aged 65) |
| Alma mater | Howard University (BS) University of Michigan (PhD) |
Marjorie Lee Browne (September 9, 1914 – October 19, 1979) was a very important math teacher and researcher. She was one of the first African-American women to earn a PhD (a very high degree) in mathematics. This was a huge achievement at a time when it was much harder for African Americans and women to get advanced education.
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Early Life and Learning
Marjorie Lee Browne was born on September 9, 1914, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents were Mary Taylor Lee and Lawrence Johnson Lee. When Marjorie was almost two, her mother passed away. Her father, a railway postal clerk, remarried a school teacher named Lottie. Both her father and stepmother strongly encouraged Marjorie to study hard. They saw that she was a very bright student.
Marjorie went to LeMoyne High School, a private Methodist school. This school was started after the Civil War. While in high school, she was also a talented athlete. In 1929, she won the Memphis City Women's Tennis Singles Championship. She graduated from LeMoyne High School two years later.
College and Graduate School
After high school, Marjorie went to Howard University. She studied mathematics there and graduated with honors in 1935. This means she did very well in her studies. After getting her first degree, she taught at high schools and colleges for a short time. One of these places was Gilbert Academy in New Orleans.
She then decided to apply to the University of Michigan for a graduate degree in mathematics. At that time, many US schools did not accept African Americans. However, the University of Michigan did. Marjorie worked full-time at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Wiley College is a historically black college. She could only attend the University of Michigan during the summers.
Her hard work paid off! She later received a special scholarship to study full-time at Michigan. She finished her PhD in 1949. Her main project for her PhD was called "Studies of One Parameter Subgroups of Certain Topological and Matrix Groups." Her professor, George Yuri Rainich, helped her with this.
Marjorie Lee Browne was one of the first African-American women in the US to earn a PhD in mathematics. Evelyn Boyd Granville also earned her PhD in 1949. The very first African-American woman to get a math PhD was Euphemia Haynes, who earned hers in 1943.
Later Career and Impact
After earning her PhD, it was still hard for Marjorie Browne to get a teaching job at a big research university. Because of this, she worked with high school math teachers. She taught them about "modern math." She especially wanted to help minority students and women get a good math education.
Teaching at NCCU
Dr. Browne then joined the faculty at North Carolina College. This school is now called North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She taught and did research there for 30 years! She was also the head of the math department for a long time, from 1951 to 1970.
At NCCU, she led summer programs for high school science and math teachers. She helped them learn new ways to teach.
Her Legacy
Marjorie Lee Browne passed away from a heart attack on October 19, 1979, in Durham, North Carolina. After she died, four of her former students created the Marjorie Lee Browne Trust Fund at North Carolina Central University. This fund helps students by offering the Marjorie Lee Browne Scholarship. It also supports a special lecture series.
Since 1999, the Mathematics Department at the University of Michigan has held the Marjorie Lee Browne Colloquium. This is an annual event where a speaker shares their research. It also focuses on the importance of diversity in science.
Important Contributions
Dr. Browne's work in mathematics helped show simple ways to prove important ideas about certain math groups. Her main focus was on linear algebra and matrix algebra. These are types of math that deal with numbers arranged in rows and columns.
Computers in Education
Marjorie Browne was one of the first to see how important computer science would become. In 1960, she wrote a grant request for $60,000 to IBM. She wanted to bring a computer to NCCU. This was one of the first computers used in a college setting. It was probably the very first at a historically black school.
Helping Students and Teachers
Throughout her career, Dr. Browne worked hard to help talented math students. She taught them and even gave them money to continue their education. Some of her notable students included Joseph Battle, William Fletcher, Asamoah Nkwanta, and Nathan Simms.
She also created summer programs to help high school teachers keep learning about math. In 1974, she received the first W. W. Rankin Memorial Award. This award was from the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics. It recognized her great work in math education.
She was a member of several important math groups. These included the Women's Research Society, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the International Congress of Mathematicians.
Awards and Honors
Even though there was a lot of unfair treatment against African Americans and women when Dr. Browne started her career, she was still recognized for her amazing work.
- Elected to Sigma Xi, 1948 (a science honor society)
- Nominated by the University of Michigan for the American Mathematical Society
- Received a Ford Foundation fellowship to study a type of math called combinatorial topology at Cambridge University
- Received a National Science Foundation Faculty Fellowship to study computing and numerical analysis at UCLA
- Received a fellowship to study differential topology at Columbia University, 1965–66
- Was the first person to receive the W. W. Rankin Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education. This award was given by the North Carolina Council of Teachers in Mathematics. They praised her for "helping to pave the way for integrated organizations."
- The University of Michigan Department of Mathematics started the Dr. Marjorie Lee Browne Colloquium in 1999. This special talk happens every year during the University of Michigan's Martin Luther King Day activities.
- The Marjorie Lee Browne Scholarship offers full scholarships to students who major in math at NCCU.
See also
In Spanish: Marjorie Lee Browne para niños
