David Blackwell
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| David Blackwell | |
| Born | April 24, 1919 Centralia, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  American |
| Fields | Mathematician |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Doctoral advisor | Joseph Leo Doob |
| Known for | Rao–Blackwell theorem |
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David Blackwell (born April 24, 1919, Centralia, Illinois) is Professor Emeritus of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and is one of the eponyms of the Rao–Blackwell theorem. He was the first African American inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1935, aged 16, David Blackwell entered the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His interest in mathematics continued to grow. While at the Institute, Blackwell started to look for academic appointments. He made enquiries at each of the 105 "black colleges" to see if any post were available. One might see the fact that he concentrated on obtaining a job at a black College as a sign that he was aware of the powerful discrimination against African Americans, but he has later explained that this was not quite how he saw it; rather he simply accepted that a black teacher would be limited to teach at a "black college".[citation needed]
He sought a position at the University of California at Berkeley, however, and was interviewed by Neyman for the post. Neyman strongly support his appointment but others had far too strong prejudices to allow Blackwell to be appointed. He was offered a post at the Southern University at Baton Rouge which he held in 1942-43, followed by a year as an Instructor at Clark College in Atlanta.
