Physicist, Hubert Mack Thaxton

An Early Black American Scientist in Nuclear Physics

Jan 30, 2008

Hubert Mack Thaxton, an African American physicist who did fundamental work in nuclear physics and applied work in electronics and acoustics, faced racial discrimination.

Hubert Mack Thaxton

Most details of Thaxton's personal life have been lost. He was born on December 28, 1912 in Virginia, at a time when black people faced overt discrimination.

Thaxton's contributions to physics include fundamental understanding of the forces that confine atomic nuclei. He also contributed to electronics, optics, and acoustics (science of sound). Before calculators were invented, Thaxton designed a type of circular slide rule as a computational aid. In addition to research, Thaxton taught physics and mathematics.

Thaxton's Education

Thaxton graduated with a BS from Howard University, at age 18, in 1931. In 1933 he earned an MS degree in physics from Howard. Thaxton then attended the University of Wisconsin and earned an MA in 1936 and a PhD in physics in 1939. His doctoral work was in theoretical nuclear physics.

Teaching in North Carolina

Thaxton's first teaching job after completing his doctorate was at the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, now North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. Thaxton chaired the physics department.

Thaxton continued his work in theoretical physics. In 1940 he coauthored a scientific paper with Arthur Eddington, the most prominent British astrophysicist of the era. Thaxton's work in nuclear physics contributed to our understanding of the strong nuclear force that holds the protons together in the nuclei of atoms. Without this nuclear force, repulsive electrical forces between protons would rip nuclei apart.

Professor D.A. Edwards, one of Thaxton's teaching colleagues at NCA&T, recalled to this author over 50 years later that Thaxton had designed a circular slide rule. The details were however lost in the mists of time. Edwards also said that Thaxton was a bachelor at this time, but did not know if he later married.

New York

Thaxton moved to New York in 1945. He taught mathematics part time in evening classes at the City College of New York. He also taught at Walter Henry Junior College.

Thaxton also worked at a number of industrial physics jobs. His industrial employers were interested in facets of physics having immediate practical applications, so Thaxton changed the focus of his research to electronics, optics, and acoustics.

Overt Discrimination

Thaxton's was denied tenure at the City College of New York in 1969. In a September 23, 1969 hearing, Thaxton charged that the university denied him tenure because of his race. He had not been promoted from lecturer, a low rank in American universities, in the 24 years since 1945. Thaxton charged that he had not been offered a tenured position despite a promise that he would be when one became available.

The college claimed Thaxton was unqualified, despite holding a PhD degree. The college did offer to grant Thaxton tenure if he would take a mathematics competency exam. Thaxton refused because such exams are not normally required for professors holding doctorates. The doctoral degree, is evidence of competence. Thaxton's PhD in theoretical physics (a mathematical field) combined with his scientific publications should be proof of mathematical competence.

Thaxton died in 1974 in his early 60s. Thaxton made important contributions to our understanding the forces that hold nuclei of atoms together, but still faced overt racial discrimination.