Black History Month Highlight: Dr. Charles E. Anderson

Dr. Charles E. Anderson

We are celebrating the start of Black History Month by highlighting the achievements of Charles E. Anderson, the first African American to earn a PhD in Meteorology. 

After graduating from Lincoln University with a degree in Chemistry, Charles career began when he was assigned to the Tuskegee Army Airfield weather detachment in 1943. “My background in math and chemistry seemed to be exactly the kind of background that they were looking for in meteorologists, so I applied,” he said in a 1992 interview for the American Meteorological Society Oral History Project. As a squadron Weather Officer in the Army, Charles trained fighter pilots across the U.S. before retiring from duty in 1948.

In 1960, he received a PhD in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and became Professor of Space Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It was the beginning of a long career in science education and research. Charles is also known for his legacy in pioneering reducing jet contrails and work focused on cloud and aerosol meteorology of planets.

Dr. Anderson retired in 1990 and died in 1994 in Durham, NC. 

Photo: U.S. Air Force, 557th Weather Wing