How old would David Blackwell be now?
David Blackwell, a statistician and mathematician who wrote groundbreaking papers on probability and game theory and was the first black scholar to be admitted to the National Academy of Sciences, died July 8 in Berkeley, Calif. He was 91.
What did David Blackwell do as a kid?
Blackwell, the son of a railroad worker, taught himself to read as a boy. He initially planned to become an elementary school teacher, and at age 16 he entered the University of Illinois, where his early aptitude for mathematics blossomed.
What was David Blackwell’s job?
Statistician
Hochschullehrer
David Blackwell/Professions
David Harold Blackwell (April 24, 1919 – July 8, 2010) was an American statistician and mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory, and Bayesian statistics. He is one of the eponyms of the Rao–Blackwell theorem.
How many siblings does David Blackwell?
David Blackwell’s parents were Grover Blackwell and Mabel Johnson and David was the oldest of their four children. Grover Blackwell worked for the Illinois Central Railroad and his job consisted of looking after the locomotives while Mabel looked after the family bringing up David, his two brothers and one sister.
Who inspired David Blackwell?
M. A. Girshick
In Washington, influenced by M. A. Girshick, he embarked on major research in mathematics and statistics. During the 10 years he spent at Howard, while carrying a heavy teaching load and serving as Department Chair for seven years, Blackwell published 20 papers and a monograph.
When did Blackwell retire?
1988
He retired in 1988. Blackwell served as President of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics in 1955, and was Vice President of the American Statistical Association, the International Statistical Institute, and the American Mathematical Society.
What is David Blackwell’s ethnicity?
David Harold Blackwell, mathematician and statistician, was the first African American to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1965) and is especially known for his contributions to the theory of duels. Blackwell was born on April 24, 1919, to a working-class family in Centralia, Illinois.
His work in decision theory was developed in a series of papers, most of them coauthored with Blackwell, Rubin, Savage, or Arrow. The major results of these studies were systematically presented in Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions (1954), written jointly with Blackwell.
Who was a famous black mathematician?
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) is often recognized as the first African American mathematician; however, ex-slave Thomas Fuller’s (1710-1790) and the Nigerian Muhammad ibn Muhammad’s (16??-1741) activities predate Benjamin Banneker. None of these men had formal degrees.
How was Blackwell childhood?
Blackwell was born on April 24, 1919, to a working-class family in Centralia, Illinois. Growing up in an integrated community, Blackwell attended “mixed” schools, where he distinguished himself in mathematics. During elementary school, his teachers promoted him beyond his grade level on two occasions.
