Thread by @UNH_WIS

This month we'll be doubling up on #WomenInScienceWednesday to feature black women in STEM for #BlackHistoryMonth. Today we're featuring Marguerite Williams, the first African American to earn a PhD in geology in the United States. 1/n

Williams completed her BA at @HowardU and then went on to complete her MA at @Columbia and PhD in geology at @CatholicUniv in 1942. Her dissertation work was titled "A history of erosion in the Anacostia drainage basin." 2/n

Throughout her education & academic career, Williams taught at the Miner Teacher's College, now part of the @udc_edu, where she served as Chair of the Division of Geography. She was promoted to full professor after receiving her PhD and also taught at her alma matter @HowardU 3/n

While most of Williams’s career was focused on teaching, her research in geology contributed towards understanding how #deforestation, urbanization, and #agriculture accelerate #erosion in river basins 4/n

You can learn more about Marguerite Williams's life and career in Black Women Scientists in the United States by Winifred Warren and The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century by Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey. 5/5