Elbert Frank Cox
| Elbert Frank Cox | |
|---|---|
Elbert Cox, 1919
|
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| Born | 5 December 1895 Evansville, Indiana |
| Died |
28 November 1969 (aged 73) Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | West Virginia State College, Howard University |
| Alma mater | Indiana, Cornell |
| Doctoral advisor | William Lloyd Garrison Williams |
| Known for | Generalised Euler polynomials, generalised Boole summation formula |
| Spouse | Beulah Kaufman |
| Children | James, Eugene Kaufman, Elbert Lucien, Kenneth |
Elbert Frank Cox (December 5, 1895 – November 28, 1969) was an American mathematician who became the first black person in the world to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics. He spent most of his life as a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was known as an excellent teacher. During his life, he overcame various difficulties which arose because of racism. In his honor, the National Association of Mathematicians established the Cox-Talbot Address, which is annually delivered at the NAM's national meetings. The Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund, which is used to help black students pursue studies, is named in his honor as well. In 1917 after graduating, Cox joined the U.S Army in World War I. After he discharged from the Army, he began his career as a high school math tutor.
Besides mathematics, Cox took courses in German, English, Latin, history, hygiene, chemistry, education, philosophy and physics. Cox's brother Avalon was at Indiana University as well; there were three other black students in his class. He received his bachelor's degree in 1917, at a time when the transcript of every black student had the word "COLORED" printed across it.
After serving in the US Army in France during World War I, he returned to pursue a career in teaching, as an instructor of mathematics at a high school in Henderson, Kentucky. In December 1921 he applied for admission to Cornell University, one of seven American universities with a doctoral program in mathematics. One of his references wrote a positive letter followed by another letter anticipating "... certain difficulties for the young man because of the fact he is of the colored race." Fox was awarded his PhD by Cornell in 1925, for his dissertation, The polynomial solutions of the difference equation af(x+1) + bf(x) = [Phi](x).
On September 16, 1925, Cox began teaching mathematics and physics at the then all-black, poorly funded West Virginia State College. Professors with a Ph.D. were a rarity there, and his international connections made him stand out as well. He received a salary of $1800. His influence can be seen in the large number of changes in the curriculum between 1925 and 1928. In 1927, he married Beulah Kaufman, the daughter of a former slave. She was a teacher at an elementary school, and worked with Cox' brother Avalon. He and Beulah had met in 1921 and had courted for six years. Their first child, James, was born in 1928. In 1929, he joined Howard University and moved to Washington, D.C..
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