Wade Ellis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wade Ellis (June 9, 1909November 20, 1989) was an American mathematician and educator. He taught at
Fort Valley State University Fort Valley State University (FVSU; formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University Syste ...
in Georgia and
Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in 1944. He carried out classified research on radar antennas at the
MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...
and taught at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
and
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
, where he became Full Professor in 1953. The same year, he was elected to the Board of Governors of the
Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...
. Ellis promoted mathematical education and was decorated for his efforts in 1966 by the government of Peru. He returned to the University of Michigan in 1967 as Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Mathematics until his retirement in 1977, when he was named
professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
. Afterwards, he served in various administrative positions including vice chancellor of academic affairs at
University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "Research Colleges and Universities" ...
and interim president of
Marygrove College Marygrove College was a private Roman Catholic graduate college from 1905 to 2019 in Detroit, Michigan, affiliated with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. History The college grew out of a postgraduate tutorial offered to ...
in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
.


Family history and life

Wade Ellis' father, Whitfield Washington, was born on September 26, 1870, in
Sumter County, Alabama Sumter County is a county located in the west central portion of Alabama."ACES Winston County Office" (links/history), Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), 2007, webpageACES-Sumter At the 2020 census, the population was 12,345. Its co ...
. In the mid-1880s, a confrontation involving Whitfield and several white men resulted in two white men dying. He escaped a possible
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
by making his way south to
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
and finding work as a cook on an international trade ship where he traveled to the Caribbean and the west coast of Africa. He eventually returned to the United States and moved to Oklahoma, changing his name to Whit Ellis and opening a restaurant. Wade Ellis' mother, Maggie Ellis, was born on August 25, 1880, in Dallas, Texas. Her father, James Riley, was likely born into slavery in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in 1844 before joining the Union Army towards the end of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and eventually becoming a Buffalo Soldier. As a child Maggie attended an integrated school for white and Indian children and from 1898 to 1899 she attended high school at the Colored Agriculture and Normal University at Langston, Oklahoma, now known as
Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...
. She met Whit in 1899 and the two were married in 1900. Wade Ellis was born in
Chandler, Oklahoma Chandler ()Gordon Whittaker, 2005, "A Concise Dictionary of the Sauk Language", The Sac & Fox National Public Library Stroud, Oklahoma/ref> is a city in, and the county seat of, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. a ...
on June 9, 1909, one of ten children. As a child he worked at his family's restaurant, doing chores such as cleaning fish and shucking corn. He took up the trombone and played in a family band. Ellis excelled academically and attended Douglass School, graduating at 14. He received his bachelor's degree from
Wilberforce University Wilberforce University (WU) is a private university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is one of three historically black universities established before the American Civil War. Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC), it is named after ...
, Ohio in 1929, at age 18, his master's degree from the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
in 1938, and his Ph.D. from the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in 1944. After moving to
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
in 1939, he purchased a home in 1941 with the help of a $300 ($ in 2019 value) loan from his barber. He died of a heart attack on November 20, 1989, in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
.


Career

Ellis earned his master's degree from the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
in 1938, though he was forced to march at the end of his graduation line because of his race. When he was invited to speak and have dinner at the Texas Section of the
American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
, black people were not allowed to dine with the Section. Worried at offending their guest, mathematicians Paul K. Rees, who invited Ellis, and C.V. Newsom, who was then-chair at New Mexico, arranged the seating so that the two of them, along with another individual from New Mexico, would leave an empty seat for Ellis at dinner in hopes that the seating would not be noticed. It passed without incident, and Ellis inadvertently became the first black mathematician to have dinner with the Texas Section. In 1938, he presented ''The efficiency of approximation formulas for determining the rate of interest in amortization schedules'' to the Southwestern Section of the
Mathematics Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...
(MAA). He began teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in Oklahoma, and taught at the Boys Industrial School in
Boley, Oklahoma Boley is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,091 at the 2020 Census. Boley was incorporated in 1905 as a predominantly Black pioneer town with persons having Native American ancestry among its citizens. Of th ...
, Fort Valley State College in Georgia, and at
Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, all of which were segregated. He received a
Rosenwald Fellowship The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...
. In 1939, he moved with his wife Agatha and newborn son William Whit to
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
to begin his doctorate at the University of Michigan. At the time only a few schools in the country accepted black students, and it was among the best-known. The school still had many segregation policies and issues with racism, but compared to others he believed it treated black students relatively well. He encouraged his brother Francis (Frank) Willis to enroll in a summer program at the school, and Frank eventually became a research assistant and also enrolled at the school. Under the supervision of
George Yuri Rainich George Yuri Rainich (March 25, 1886 – October 10, 1968, born Yuri Germanovich Rabinovich) was a leading mathematical physicist in the early twentieth century. Career Rainich studied mathematics from 1904 to 1908 in Odessa, in Göttingen ( ...
, he finished his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1944, and became the twelfth African-American to do so in the United States. His thesis, ''On Relations Satisfied by Linear Operators on a Three Dimensional Linear Vector Space'', was designated the "best in his department". Despite his excellent scholarly record, unlike other Ph.D. candidates he did not receive a teaching fellowship, and as a teaching assistant he was only paid 20% of what white teaching assistants earned. From 1944 to 1948 he worked at the
MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...
as a Section Director, where he carried out classified research on radar antennas as well as detecting whether the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
had detonated atomic weapons. He taught at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
before becoming the first black faculty member at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
in 1948, where he stayed for 19 years. While at Oberlin, he also became a member of the city council and served one term as the town's Vice-Mayor. In 1953 he became a
Full Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...
, and was elected to the Board of Governors of the
Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...
, and in 1954 he presented his paper ''On the directional derivative'' and was elected as an officer of the organization's Program Committee. In 1967 he became the Associate Dean of the
Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, commonly known as the Rackham Graduate School, is the graduate school of the University of Michigan. Founded in 1912 with an endowment from Mary Rackham, the wife of Horace Rackham, in 1935, the ...
and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan, where he contributed to the Michigan Scholars Program. He consulted with several international groups on how to encourage mathematics education in developing countries, and in 1966 he was decorated by the government of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
for his contributions to their higher education. On August 31, 1977, he retired from Michigan and was named Associate Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. He took on administrative positions elsewhere, including becoming vice chancellor of academic affairs at
University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "Research Colleges and Universities" ...
and interim president of
Marygrove College Marygrove College was a private Roman Catholic graduate college from 1905 to 2019 in Detroit, Michigan, affiliated with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. History The college grew out of a postgraduate tutorial offered to ...
(Detroit). He wrote the foreword to '' Black Mathematicians and Their Works'', which was published in 1980. The book was part of the push to eliminate inequities in math education of minority students, and Ellis wrote that it was fighting back against the beliefs held by teachers that promising young black students were incapable of being mathematicians.


Awards

*
Rosenwald Fellowship The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...
* Comendador en la Orden de las Palmas Magisteriales del Peru (1966)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Wade 1909 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American educators African-American mathematicians Oberlin College faculty People from Chandler, Oklahoma University of Michigan alumni University of New Mexico alumni Wilberforce University alumni 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century African-American scientists