Charles E. Anderson (1919–1994) was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

to receive a Ph.D. in Meteorology. He was a dean at University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Biography

Higher education and army life

Anderson was born on August 13, 1919, in

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri, and borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, a citizen who donated ...

, a suburb of St. Louis. His mother and father were from Mississippi. He earned a

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Chemistry in 1941 from Lincoln University and received high accolades as he graduated third in his class. Lincoln University was also the place where he met his wife-to-be, Marjorie Anderson. Upon graduating,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had begun and he enlisted in

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He was assigned to the meteorology division and Anderson claims that this came about due to the process of elimination. The Army sent him, along with 150 other cadets to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

to study meteorology. While there along with an exceptionally heavy academic course load, Anderson also underwent physical training, weapons training, and specific training in

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

. Anderson completed this training in May 1943 and earned his meteorological certification. Upon finishing, he was stationed in Tuskegee,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

where he was assigned as a weather officer for the

332nd Fighter Group The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014. The group forms part of ...

now known as the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

. After his service in Tuskegee, Anderson became a squadron weather officer and trained fighter pilots across the country.

Post-war career

Anderson temporarily left the Army Air Corps after the war to pursue an opportunity in high polymer chemistry at the

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...

in 1946. After receiving his master's degree, Anderson became a research and development officer for Watson Laboratories, supervising the works of many notable German scientists. In 1955, Anderson decided to further pursue his academic studies and applied to the doctoral program in Meteorology at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sci ...

. During this time he wrote his dissertation: "A Study of the Pulsating Growth of Cumulus Clouds." Anderson earned his Ph.D. in 1960, becoming the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Meteorology.

References

External links

Answers.com Charles Anderson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Charles E. 1919 births 1994 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers American meteorologists Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni American military personnel of World War II University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society Tuskegee Airmen