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David Blackwell (David Harold Blackwell) was born on 24 April, 1919 in Centralia, Illinois, U.S., is an American mathematician and statistician. Discover David Blackwell's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 91 years old?

Popular As David Harold Blackwell
Occupation N/A
Age 91 years old
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Born 24 April 1919
Birthday 24 April
Birthplace Centralia, Illinois, U.S.
Date of death 8 July, 2010
Died Place Berkeley, California, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 24 April. He is a member of famous mathematician with the age 91 years old group.

David Blackwell Height, Weight & Measurements

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David Blackwell Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is David Blackwell worth at the age of 91 years old? David Blackwell’s income source is mostly from being a successful mathematician. He is from United States. We have estimated David Blackwell's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
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Source of Income mathematician

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Timeline

1919

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 statistics.

He is one of the eponyms of the Rao–Blackwell theorem.

He was the first African American inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, the first African American full professor (with tenure) at the University of California, Berkeley, and the seventh African American to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics.

David Harold Blackwell was born on April 24, 1919, in Centralia, Illinois, to Mabel Johnson Blackwell, a full-time homemaker, and Grover Blackwell, an Illinois Central Railroad worker.

He was the eldest of four children with two brothers, J. W. and Joseph, and one sister, Elizabeth.

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.

It was in a high school geometry course, however, that his passion for math began.

1935

An exceptional student, Blackwell graduated high school in 1935 at the age of sixteen.

Blackwell entered the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with the intent to study elementary school mathematics and become a teacher.

He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, a black fraternity that housed him for his full six years as a student.

1938

He earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics in three years in 1938 and, a year later, a master's degree in 1939.

1941

He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics in 1941 at the age of 22.

His doctoral advisor was Joseph L. Doob.

At the time, Blackwell was the seventh African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics in the United States and the first at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

His doctoral thesis was on Markov chains.

Blackwell completed one year of postdoctoral research as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Princeton in 1941 after receiving a Rosenwald Fellowship, which was a fund to aid black scholars.

There he met John von Neumann, who asked Blackwell to discuss his Ph.D. thesis with him.

Blackwell, who believed that von Neumann was just being polite and not genuinely interested in his work, did not approach him until von Neumann himself asked him again a few months later.

According to Blackwell, "He (von Neumann) listened to me talk about this rather obscure subject and in ten minutes he knew more about it than I did."

While a postdoc at IAS, Blackwell was prevented from attending lectures or undertaking research at nearby Princeton University, which the IAS has historically collaborated with in research and scholarship activities, because of his race.

1942

Seeking a permanent position elsewhere, he wrote letters of application to 104 historically black colleges and universities in 1942, and received a total of only three offers.

He felt at the time that a black professor would be limited to teaching at black colleges.

Having been highly recommended by his dissertation advisor Joseph L. Doob for a position at the University of California, Berkeley, he was interviewed by statistician Jerzy Neyman.

Neyman supported his appointment, and Griffith C. Evans, the head of the mathematics department, at first agreed and even convinced university president Robert Sproul that it was the correct decision, only to subsequently balk, citing the concerns of his wife.

It was customary for Evans and his wife to invite the members of the department over for dinner and "she was not going to have any darkie in her house."

He was offered a post at Southern University at Baton Rouge, which he held in from 1942 to 1943, followed by a year as an Instructor at Clark College in Atlanta.

1944

Blackwell joined the Mathematics Department at Howard University in 1944.

When he joined, he was one of four faculty members and within three years he was appointed full professor and head of the department.

1947

In 1947 while at Howard, Blackwell published the paper "Conditional Expectation and Unbiased Sequential Estimation", which outlined a technique that later became known as the Rao-Blackwell theorem.

The theorem provides a method for improving statistical estimates by potentially reducing their mean squared error.

1948

From 1948 to 1950, Blackwell spent his summers at RAND Corporation with Meyer Abraham Girshick and other mathematicians exploring the game theory of duels.

1954

He remained at Howard until 1954.

In 1954 Girshick and Blackwell published Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions.

Aside from von Neumann and Girshick, other Blackwell collaborators and mentors included Leonard J. Savage, Richard E. Bellman, and Nobel Laureate Kenneth J. Arrow.

Blackwell took a position at the University of California, Berkeley as a visiting professor in 1954, and was hired as a full professor in the newly created Department of Statistics in 1955.

1969

He wrote one of the first Bayesian statistics textbooks, his 1969 Basic Statistics.

By the time he retired, he had published over 90 papers and books on dynamic programming, game theory, and mathematical statistics.

2012

In 2012, President Obama posthumously awarded Blackwell the National Medal of Science.

Blackwell was also a pioneer in textbook writing.