This biography is part of the series Pioneering women in Earth Sciences – the link will take you to the main page.
Marguerite Thomas Williams was a Black American geographer, geologist, teacher, and STEM advocate in the first half of the 20th C.
The Anacostia River drainage basin is a relatively small watershed, but also one of the most urbanized in the USA. From its headwaters in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland, the trunk river flows 13.5 km to its confluence with Potomac River in Washington DC. Prior to European contact (the Spanish in 1521; Captain John Smith, 1608) and settlement (later 16th C), the river and its tributaries were home to rich and diverse flora and fauna – a source of food and trade for the local American Indian communities, principally the Anacostan, Piscataway, and Pamunkey tribes. These and other tribes in the region were decimated by disease, war, and land confiscation within three to four decades of European settlement.
Degradation of the river and its ecosystem inevitably followed the rapidly expanding settler population: sewage outflows, deforestation and the impacts of sediment removal to the Anacostia and Potomac, tobacco plantations, industrialization, Washington Navy Yards (established 1799 and fortified during the Civil War) – all led to the Anacostia being one of the most polluted watersheds in USA by mid-twentieth century.
Marguerite Thomas Williams’ PhD dissertation “A history of erosion in the Anacostia drainage Basin” submitted to The Catholic University of America in 1942 was the first of its kind in two respects. It was one of the first detailed examinations of land-use practices and their impacts on river water quality and ecosystem viability. Her thesis focused on the effects of deforestation and agriculture on erosion and sediment supply to waterways in the drainage basin. Williams was also the first Black American woman in the USA to be conferred a PhD in the geological sciences.
Both ‘firsts’ came at a difficult time. The American industrial complex was focused on World War Two and the broader ‘environmental’ considerations were of secondary importance. The death or disappearance of a few fish was an acceptable price under the circumstances. The Jim Crow era, that institutionalized the legal, social, and moral tenets of white supremacy was also in full swing. Williams, like every other Black or African American, had to contend with daily doses of prejudice, distrust, and in some cases unbridled hatred and violence.
Little is known about Williams’ early life, but it is clear she developed a passion for the physical sciences and teaching. She graduated in 1916 from a teacher-training program at the Normal School for Coloured Girls (later named Miners Teachers College in 1879, that subsequently was merged with the University of the District of Columbia). She began teaching and coincidentally began a BSc at Howard University (also in DC) that she completed in 1923.
At Howard she met and was mentored by Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941), a Black American biologist who had established an international reputation in marine biology and cytology who taught at Howard – the only American university that would hire him, despite his reputation. Just recognized Marguerite’s skills and enthusiasm and he encouraged her to continue her studies, completing a Masters in 1930. At this period in her life, she was well ensconced at Miners Teachers College, had earned Assistant Professor rank, was Chair of the Division of Geography, and married Dr. Otis Williams.
The decade that followed saw her continue teaching at Miners College. She enrolled in a PhD program at the Catholic University of America and graduated 1942. The addition of Dr. to her name induced Miners College to elevate her position to Full Professor, a position she held until retirement in 1955. She coincidentally taught at Howard University.
Marguerite Thomas Williams was an inspiration for Black American and other groups dispossessed of the right to education and equality. She was a staunch advocate for Black students and a STEM pioneer. The American Geophysical Union established an award in 2020 recognizing significant contributions to research and community-building by a mid-career scientist in the field of earth and planetary surface processes.
References and other links
Anouk Beniest, 2020. Marguerite Thomas Williams: The US’ first black person to obtain a doctorate in Geology. EGU Blogs.
Association of American Geographers. American Indians of Washington, D.C., and the Chesapeake. Post, July 3, 2018.
Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Dr. Marguerite Thomas Williams, PhD.
Marguerite Thomas Williams, 1942, A history of erosion in the Anacostia drainage Basin, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C., 59p.
Rachael Carson Council, Marguerite Williams.
Trowelblazers, 2018. Marguerite Thomas Williams.
Wini Warren, 2000. Marguerite Thomas Williams: Geologist, in Black Women Scientists in the United States. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, IN. 392 p. (Not sighted)
