Georgia Caldwell Smith

Georgia Caldwell Smith (1909–1961) was one of the first African-American women to gain a bachelor's degree in mathematics. When she was 51, she earned a Ph.D. in mathematics, one of the earliest by an African-American woman, awarded posthumously in 1961. Smith was the head of the Department of Mathematics at Spelman College. and attended segregated public schools. She gained her A.B. in 1928, and A.M. in 1929, both in mathematics from the University of Kansas. She returned to Spelman in 1945 to take on the position of head of the Department of Mathematics.

Smith undertook further study at the University of Minnesota and University of Georgia, gaining a National Science Foundation fellowship to work on her doctorate. Smith completed her dissertation in 1960 at the University of Pittsburgh, titled Some results on the anti center of a group. Her supervisor was Norman Levine. Smith was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Mu Epsilon. before her PhD was conferred posthumously in June.