William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor (1908 - 1967)

Born 4 Jan 1908 in Norfolk, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Died 14 Jul 1967 at age 59 in Washington D.C., United States

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Biography

William Claytor is Notable.

William Schieffelin Claytor was a mathematician who specialized in topology. He was the first African-American to be published in a mathematical research journal, and only the third African-American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics.^[1]

William was born in 1908. He was the son of dentist Dr. William Claytor and his wife Simsie Thorne.

William obtained a Masters from Howard University in 1929, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1933.^[1]

William served in the U.S. Army during World War II, teaching at Anti-Aircraft Artillery Schools in Virginia and Georgia. ^[2][1] Afterwards he joined the faculty at Howard University, eventually serving chair of the Mathematics Department.

Williams married Mae Belle Pullins, a psychologist, in 1947 in Manhattan, New York.^[3]

The National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) has a lecture series named after William.^[1]

He passed away in 1967 and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Schieffelin_Claytor
2. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946"
   National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 10345; Reel: 96
   Ancestry Record 8939 #4045901 (accessed 24 November 2022)
   Name: William W S Claytor; Race: Negro (Black); Marital Status: Single, without dependents (Single); Rank: Private; Birth Year: 1908; Nativity State or Country: Virginia; Citizenship: Citizen; Education: Post-graduate; Civil Occupation: Teachers (secondary school) and principals; Enlistment Date: 1 Apr 1941; Enlistment Place: Detroit, Michigan; Service Number: 36108373; Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA; Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men); Source: Civil Life; Height: 70; Weight: 160.
3. ↑ Marriage: "New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018"
   New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 36
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61406 #2212445 (accessed 24 November 2022)
   William W S Claytor marriage to Mae B Pullins on 5 Aug 1947 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
4. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #243658671 (accessed 24 November 2022)
   Memorial page for William W S Claytor (1908-1967), citing Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Suitland, Prince George's County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by hsorensen (contributor 51156183).

• 1910 Census: "1910 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1910; Census Place: Tanner Creek, Norfolk, Virginia; Roll: T624_1639; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 0076; FHL microfilm: 1375652
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #179831352 (accessed 24 November 2022)
  Schiefflien Clayter (2), single son, in household of William O Clayter (30) in Tanner Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Born in Virginia.
• 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 2340029
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #7299984 (accessed 24 November 2022)
  Schieffelin Clayton (22), single son, in household of William Clayton (50) at 1710 P St Mass St, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Born in Virginia.
• 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
  United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 2526; Sheet Number: 61; Enumeration District: 1-1237A
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #15651299 (accessed 24 November 2022)
  William W Claytor (42), married, Math Teacher, head of household in Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Born in Virginia. With wife Mae Belle, WWII Veteran

See also:

• https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Claytor/
• https://undark.org/2016/11/02/unsung-william-waldron-schieffelin-claytor/
• Wikidata: Item Q12898324