... First Name Shirley #13. he Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. became the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on July 1, 1999. Learn about Shirley Jackson: her birthday, what she did before fame, her family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. Jackson graduated from Syracuse University in 1940 and married the American literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. Shirley Ann Jackson, born in 1946 in Washington, D.C., has achieved numerous firsts for African American women. 6 ) Jackson completed six novels. Shirley Ann Jackson (born August 5, 1946) is an American physicist.She is President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.In 1973 she became the first African-American women to get a doctorate degree in nuclear physics.She was also the first to get this degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.. She was named one of the 50 Most Important Women in Science by Discover magazine. 7 ) Jackson, a housewife as well as a writer, said that writing is “the only way I can get to sit down.” 8 ) Jackson died of heart failure, thought to be brought on by smoking and weight issues. Shirley Ann Jackson ’68, PhD ’73, worked to help bring about more diversity at MIT, where she was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate. Jackson took it as a compliment. Since 1999, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson has led an extraordinary transformation of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York and Hartford, Connecticut into a world-class technological research university. Dr. Shirley A. Jackson, one of the world’s leading scientists, endured racism, sexism and segregation during her journey to becoming the first Black woman to earn a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Learn about Shirley Ann Jackson: her birthday, what she did before fame, her family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. Life Among the Savages (1953) and Dr. Jackson was born August 5, 1946 in Washington, D.C. Jackson’s parents encouraged their daughter’s love of the sciences and made education a priority. Dr. Jackson is a theoretical physicist. She has influenced such writers as Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Nigel Kneale and Richard Matheson.. Life She had strict parents who strongly valued education and always encouraged her to attend school. She is famous and notable for written the famous short story, The Lottery.Jackson grew basically in … Shirley Jackson was an American author that is highly regarded for her great short stories as well as her novels. She was also the first to get this degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.. She was named one of the 50 Most Important Women in Science by Discover magazine.