David Blackwell dies at 91, First black scholar in National Academy of Sciences

[n2doc]

David Blackwell, a preeminent mathematician and the first black scholar in the National Academy of Sciences, died July 8 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley. He was 91 and had had a series of strokes.

Blackwell was known as a problem-solver who contributed to many areas, including probability and game theory.

"He liked elegance and simplicity," UC Berkeley statistics professor Peter Bickel said. "That is the ultimate best thing in mathematics — if you have an insight that something seemingly complicated is really simple."

Blackwell referred to himself as "sort of a dilettante" in an interview for the 1985 book "Mathematical People: Profiles and Interviews." He said he chose problems because he wanted to understand them, independent of what field they might fall under.

David Harold Blackwell was born in Centralia, Ill., on April 24, 1919. He was the eldest child of a railway worker who had a grade-school education.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-david-blackwell-20100727,0,5495888.story

[Scurrilous]

1. Thanks.

K & R :thumbsup: