Hattie Scott Peterson

Hattie T. Scott Peterson (1913–1993) is believed to be the first African-American woman to gain a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

Biography

Hattie Scott was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 11, 1913. Her parents were Hattie (Williams), a waitress and servant, and Uzeil Scott, a local mill foreman. Her parents had seemingly secured financial stability since they owned the house they lived in. Hattie was married to William Bright Jr. for 6 years from 1934 to 1940, when they divorced. She worked in the U.S. Government Accounting Office helping to audit government contracts during World War II. Peterson's work was focused on flood risk reduction, but she also advocated for engineering as a profession for women and women's rights as a whole. She died on April 10, 1993, in Sacramento. Upon her death, Mrs. Peterson left an endowment for scholarships to help future engineers at Howard University.