Dr. shirley ann jackson childhood pictures

Renowned physicist and university president, Shirley Ann Jackson was born on August 5, , in Washington, D.C., to George Hiter Jackson and Beatrice Cosby Jackson. When Shirley Ann was a child, her mother read her the biography of Benjamin Banneker, an African American scientist and mathematician who helped build Washington, D.C.

Her also father encouraged her interest in science by assisting her with projects for school. The Space Race of the lates would also have an impact on Jackson as a child, spurring her interest in scientific investigation.

Jackson attended Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., where she took accelerated math and science classes.

Jackson graduated as valedictorian and went onto apply to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was accepted, making Jackson among one of the first African American students to attend MIT and the first woman to earn a PhD in physics in MIT’s history.

After receiving her degree, Jackson was hired as a research associa