Jasper Brown Jefferies (April 15, 1912 - July 16, 1994) was an African American physicist, one of the few African Americans to work on the Manhattan Project. [1] [2]
Jasper Brown Jeffries was born on April 15, 1912, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. [3] Jeffries attended West Virginia State College and earned his B.S. degree in 1933. [4] After in 1937, Jeffries got engaged to his wife Marguerite Diffay. [3] Together, they have three daughters. [3] Later in 1940, Jeffries earned his master's degree in physical sciences from the University of Chicago. [4] [5]
After earning his degrees, Jeffries worked at the Met Lab from 1943 to 1946 as physicist on the Manhattan Project. [1] While working at the Met Lab, Jeffries signed the Szilárd petition that requested President Truman to avoid dropping atomic bombs on Japan. [1] [5] After the Manhattan project, atomic bombs were developed, and World War II ended. [4] After working at the Met Lab, Jeffries served as a Professor and Chair in the Department of Physics at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, from 1946 to 1949. [3] Next, from 1951 to 1959, Jeffries was a Senior Engineer for the Control Instrument Company. [4] Then, from 1963 to 1971 Jeffries was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Westchester Community College. [4] Jasper Brown Jeffries was promoted to professor and became chair of department in 1971. [3]
Jasper Brown Jeffries passed away on July 16, 1994, in White Plains, NY. When Jeffries passed away, he was eighty-two years old. [1]