Jasper Brown Jefferies (April 15, 1912 - July 16, 1994) was an African American physicist, one of the few

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to work on the Manhattan Project.

Early life and education

Jasper Brown Jeffries was born on April 15, 1912, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jeffries attended West Virgina State College and earned his B.S. degree in 1933. After in 1937, Jeffries got engaged to his wife Marguerite Diffay. Together, they have three daughters. Later in 1940, Jeffries earned his master's degree in physical sciences from the University of Chicago.{{Cite web , last=Crocker , first=Brittany , title=15 African-Americans who were hidden heroes of the Manhattan Project , url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2018/02/25/15-african-americans-who-were-hidden-heroes-manhattan-project/1039817001/ , access-date=2024-05-07 , website=Knoxville News Sentinel , language=en-US

Career

After earning his degrees, Jeffries worked at the Met Lab from 1943 to 1946 as physicist on the Manhattan Project. While working at the Met Lab, Jeffries signed the

Szilárd petition The Szilárd petition, drafted and circulated in July 1945 by scientist Leo Szilard, was signed by 70 scientists working on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois. It asked President ...

that requested President Truman to avoid dropping atomic bombs on Japan. After the Manhattan project, atomic bombs were developed, and World War II ended. 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. Next, from 1951 to 1959, Jeffries was a Senior Engineer for the Control Instrument Company. Then, from 1963 to 1971 Jeffries was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Westchester Community College. Jasper Brown Jeffries was promoted to professor and became chair of department in 1971.

Later life

Jasper Brown Jeffries passed away on July 16, 1994, in White Plains, NY. When Jeffries passed away, he was eighty-two years old.

References

Wikipedia Student Program 1921 births 1994 deaths West Virginia State University alumni University of Chicago alumni 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American physicists African-American physicists Manhattan Project people