Reason, Charles L.
1818-1893 · Contribution: 1832-1890s
Mathematics instruction and scholarship in the antebellum era, alongside work as a linguist and educator; taught mathematics, Greek, Latin, and French
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
The first African American to hold a professorship at a predominantly white American college (New York Central College, McGrawville, 1849), teaching belles lettres, languages, and adjunct mathematics; a child prodigy who began teaching mathematics at the African Free School at age 14 (1832).
Life & background
African-American mathematician, linguist, abolitionist, and educator born July 21, 1818 in New York City to West Indian immigrant parents. First principal of Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth (1852-56, now Cheyney University); spent decades teaching in New York public schools. An active abolitionist alongside Frederick Douglass. Died Aug 16, 1893.
Sources
- African American Registry; Mathematicians of the African Diaspora (SUNY Buffalo)
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