Marguerite Thomas Williams

Marguerite Thomas Williams was an American geologist and geographer, born in 1895 and died in 1991, who in 1942 became the first African American to earn a doctorate in geology in the United States, awarded by the Catholic University of America. Her dissertation examined how deforestation and urban development in Washington D.C. Anacostia River watershed accelerated soil erosion and flooding, making her among the earliest scientists to study how human land use intensifies natural hazards. She spent much of her career teaching geography at Miner Teachers College in Washington, D.C., training generations of teachers.