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588 Notices of the AMs VoluMe 55, NuMber 5
Evansville Honors the First
Black Ph.D. in Mathematics
and His Family
Talitha M. Washington
About four years ago I came across the Mathema-
ticians of the African Diaspora website and dis-
covered that the first Black in the world to earn a
Ph.D. in mathematics was from my neighborhood
in Evansville, Indiana. While growing up, no one
talked to me about Elbert Frank Cox, who is the
first Black in the world to earn a Ph.D. in mathemat-
ics. After stumbling upon Elbert, excitement came
over me and then I became curious about who he
was and what motivated him to be successful in
mathematics.
In 2001 I became the second African American
from Evansville to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics.
Thus, I felt a personal responsibility and an ob-
ligation to give Evansville and the world an op-
portunity to thank Elbert for his accomplishments
as they opened doors for me and many other
mathematicians.
In 1895 Elbert Frank Cox was born to Johnson
and Eugenia Cox at 715 Oak Street in Evansville,
Indiana (which is located less than one mile from
where I grew up). Elbert’s father, Johnson D. Cox,
was principal and teacher for over forty years at
Third Avenue School. In those days the Evansville
schools were segregated and Third Avenue School
was an elementary school for African Americans.
There is no confirmation that J. D. had an advanced
degree but it was common to not have a college
degree before entering the teaching profession.
However, J. D. did further his education by taking
courses at Indiana University in the summer of
1927 and the summer and fall of 1928. He con-
tinued his studies by completing four summer
courses from 1930 to 1939 at Evansville College,
which is now my place of employment, the Uni-
versity of Evansville. J. D. Cox must have known
the value of an education which then led him to
encourage his son, Elbert, to succeed.
In 1913 Elbert graduated from Clark High School
and enrolled at Indiana University. In 1915 Cox
joined Kappa Alpha Psi, which is a Black fraternity
that emphasizes achievement. When Cox received
his transcript from IU, it had “Colored Student”
printed across the top. At that time it was common
for colleges and universities to distinguish race on
an academic transcript. By doing so, employers
would immediately know if the person was Black
so that they could grant or deny a position based
on race.
After graduation, Cox taught for a year at Alves
Street School in Henderson, Kentucky. Later he en-
tered the U.S. Army and taught at Shaw University.
He had enrolled in summer graduate classes at
Cornell University as early as 1920 to learn more
about science. After a couple of years Cox left Shaw
to study mathematics at Cornell University. Under
the supervision of William Lloyd Garrison Williams,
Cox completed and successfully defended his
dissertation “Polynomial Solutions of Difference
Equations”. In 1925 he became the first African
Talitha M. Washington is assistant professor of mathemat-
ics at the University of Evansville. Her email address is
tw65@evansville.edu.
The author and the plaque dedicated to J. D.
Cox and his son Elbert Frank Cox in Evansville,
Indiana.
Photograph courtesy of the author.
MAy 2008 Notices of the AMs 589
American to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics and
the first graduate of an Evansville high school to
receive a Ph.D. degree. Ironically and sadly, during
the year that Elbert joined an elite group of only
twenty-eight men who were awarded Ph.D.’s in
mathematics in the country, thirty-one Black men
were lynched.
After leaving Cornell he went on to become
the head of the Math and Physics Departments at
West Virginia State University. In the summers he
would visit his brother, Avalon, in Princeton, Indi-
ana. At Avalon’s church, Bethel African Methodist
Episcopal Church, he met Beulah Kaufman and
married her after a six-year courtship. In 1929 he
joined the faculty at Howard University. In those
days many Black scholars migrated to Howard
University. In 1929 Cox joined the faculty, and
by 1943, Howard University employed five of the
eight Black math Ph.D.’s. Cox retired in 1965 and
passed on in 1969.
Sometimes I wonder if J. D. Cox knew that his
passion for education would encourage his son to
become a trailblazer for so many. On November
18, 2006, Evansville welcomed J. D. Cox’s grandson
and great-grandchildren to a dedication ceremony
of a plaque at Liberty Baptist Church. In the main
hallway of the Liberty, one can still find J. D. Cox’s
picture hanging on the wall.
The ceremony stirred up various emotions of
thanks and gratitude from the Cox family for their
forefathers. J. D.’s great-grandson, Elbert Lucien
Cox Jr., spoke about how the educational legacy
of his family contributed to his accomplishments.
He now serves as a program manager for NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
J. D.’s grandson was touched by the presence of
the brothers of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
who proudly wore the red blazers in their sup-
port of their Kappa brother, Elbert. At the end of
the ceremony the Cox family was moved by J. D.’s
students as they stood up and gave testimonials
about how he encouraged and inspired all children
to do better.
On that day, the Evansville-Vanderburgh School
Corporation, University of Evansville, University of
Southern Indiana, and Ivy Tech Community College
joined together to support the plaque that reads:
HOME OF
JOHNSON DUNCAN COX
J. D. COX (1873–1952) WAS A TEACHER AND
PRINCIPAL AT THIRD AVENUE SCHOOL FOR
40 YEARS. IN 1925, HIS SON, ELBERT FRANK
COX, BECAME THE FIRST GRADUATE OF AN
EVANSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL TO RECEIVE A
Ph.D. DEGREE AND THE FIRST AFRICAN
AMERICAN TO EARN A Ph.D. IN MATHEMATICS
My hope is that a child will stroll by the plaque,
pause, and then read it and become amazed. The
child will realize that “if Elbert could earn such
a high degree in mathematics, then I can do any-
thing.” Behind the child, a parent will follow, and
after reading the plaque, the parent will gaze at
the nearby tulip tree and know that her child has
no limitations in this world. The parent will know
that J. D.’s passion for education helped his son
succeed, and will become encouraged to value her
own child’s education. When the child becomes
frustrated in mathematics, the parent will provide
a kind reminder about the man named Cox who
broke through racial barriers and stereotypes to
become the first African American to earn the Ph.D.
in mathematics.
Photograph which hangs in the hallway of the Liberty
Baptist Church. J. D. Cox is in the middle row, second from
the left.
Photograph courtesy of Liberty Missionary Baptist Church.