Earl Owen Embree
Born: February 17, 1924; place: Alton, Illinois
Died February 2, 2005, Towson, Maryland
BS (1950) Morgan State College; MS (1952) University of Illinois
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1963
Thesis: A Class of Linear Differential Equations Involving Distributions;
Advisor: Ray Langebartel
Earl was born in Alton, Illinois of Joseph and Estella Embree. After graduating from Alton high school in 1942, he joined the Army in the midst of World War II. He served in France and was discharged honorably in 1946.
In order to support himself financially while studying, Earl worked as a Pullman Porter as well a researcher in ballistic missles. Earl went to Morgan State College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in June 1950. After his BS, he went to the University of Illinois which had a record of accepting African American students.There he earn a Masters Degree in June 1952. Embree worked as a mathematician at the Ballistic Research Labs at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland from 1953 to 1955. In time he decided to return to graduate school. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Dr. Embree was the first, of many, students of Clarence Stephens to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics.
The same year he earned his docorate he married the former Doris Polk who he widowed in February of 2005.
After obtaining his Ph.D., Earl Embree returned to Morgan College to impart his view of Mathematics. Even though Dr. Stephens had left for New York, Dr. Embree remained to impart his understanding of the technique. At the end of his career, he retired a Professor from Morgan State University.
He was known as a kind and gentle spirit of considerable intelligence.
reference: We had help with this web page from Dr. Stephens and from Dr. Embree's nephew (by marriage) Sandy Bullard Jr. of New Jersey who graciously sent a program of the funeral services from which the photograph and much of the above information was drawn.
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