Who Was Carolyn Beatrice Parker?

Carolyn Beatrice Parker (1917 -- 1966) is unknown to both the general public and the scientific community. She studied under Elmer S. Imes at Fisk University, achieving a BA degree in physics in 1938. This was followed by a MA degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1941. For five years (1943 -- 1947), she was involved with the Manhattan Project at the Dayton, Ohio site. There she became contaminated with plutonium. Later, she enrolled at MIT and received the MA degree for experimental work on pion-nucleus (brass) scattering in 1951. Unfortunately, she died of radiation poisoning before completing the requirements for the doctorate in physics. We will discuss her family and social background, her career, and her scientific achievements. We will also focus on Parker's educational and professional attainments in relation to the restrictions imposed on the African American middle class during the period 1920 -- 1960.