Shirley Ann Jackson

By the age of 8, Shirley was fascinated by bees. She captured the little critters in jars and studied their behavior. Already a budding scientist, she kept detailed logs of her observations. She also loved racing go-carts with her sister. Her father helped her build them. Shirley learned how to apply the Laws of Motion to win races. (The Laws of Motion describe how gravity affects moving objects and what happens when something is given a push or a pull.)

Shirley was a super student in high school and got a full scholarship to attend MIT. She was one of only two African American women in her freshman class. Though she excelled in her courses, Shirley was shunned by the white students. She coped by reaching out and helping others less fortunate than herself.

Shirley always knew that she wanted to do something that involved mathematics or science. But a required physics class in her freshman year opened her eyes to a whole new way of looking at the world!

Two historic events had an enormous impact on Shirley's life and her future.

The first was the landmark Supreme Court case that desegregated public schools (Brown vs. the Board of Education). That meant that Shirley could attend the previously all-white school around the corner, where she would get a great education.

The second was the launch of the first unmanned satellite, Sputnik I, by the Soviet Union. The United States entered the space race, and students like Shirley, who were gifted in math and science, were nurtured and encouraged to pursue the sciences.