Meet the African Americans whose innovations changed the world

Dr. Shirley Jackson

The Call Waiting and Caller ID feature, the portable fax machine, and the touch-tone telephones all came to fruition due to the important research of an African-American woman, Dr. Shirley Jackson. She invented the above while working at AT&T Bell Labs where she researched theoretical physics, solid-state and quantum physics, and optical physics.

Her two leading technologies – Call Waiting and Caller ID – have enhanced communication among many. The Caller ID feature has given many people the opportunity to screen known, unknown, or unwanted phone calls. With Call Waiting, people are notified of a new incoming call while on another call.

The interesting fact is, while receiving a call, that call will not block the incoming one. Thanks to Dr. Jackson, people no longer miss calls they are expecting while they are on the phone receiving another call.

Born on August 5, 1946, Jackson is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the first African-American woman to serve as president at a top-ranked research university, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.