Ray F. Wilson, who taught chemistry at Texas Southern University in Houston for 42 years, died on June 10. He was 89 years old.
A native of Manheim, Texas, Dr. Wilson was a graduate of Samuel Huston College, which later merged with Tillotson College to become what is today Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. He earned a master’s degree in chemistry and mathematics at Texas Southern University. In 1953, he was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Wilson later earned a law degree at Texas Southern University.
Dr. Wilson joined the faculty at Texas Southern University in 1953 and was named a full professor just four years later. At the time of his retirement in 1995, he held the title of the L. Lloyd Woods Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Over his long career, he published 83 articles in national and international journals.
