Matilene Berryman

Matilene Spencer Berryman (December 8, 1920 – May 6, 2003[1]) was an American oceanographer and attorney. Originally from Prince Edward County, Virginia.[2]

Matilene Berryman
Born8 December 1926 Edit this on Wikidata
Prince Edward County Edit this on Wikidata
Died6 May 2003 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 76)
Alma mater
Occupation
Academic career
Institutions

Early life

Berryman was born in Darlington Heights, Prince Edward County, Virginia, to parents Mary and Charles Spencer.[3] She was the fifth of nine children.[3]

Education and career

Berryman earned a baccalaureate degree in mathematics from American University and a Masters in marine affairs, concentrating in oceanography and sonar engineering[2] from the University of Rhode Island.[4]

In 1957,[3] she joined the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in Maryland and taught courses on statistics and dynamics of the ocean and underwater sound to US and foreign naval reserve officers.[5] Berryman was a professor of marine science at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. and served as Chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences from 1970 to 1981.[2][3]

Berryman was a major advocate of education, which led to her appointment as Physical Science Administrator in the Executive Office of the President of the National Council on Marine Research and Development. Through this appointment, she served on an ad hoc committee to develop job opportunities for minorities in the marine science and oceanography fields.[3]

She believed that education "is the key that could truly spell the difference between abject poverty and the extreme wealth of that one percent of the population". She continued her education by earning a law degree from Howard University.[2]

Berryman was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar on January 10, 1975. Shortly after, she established a legal practice in civil, environmental, and marine law.[3] According to the National Association for Personal Injury Lawyers, she began practicing full-time as a solo practitioner in 1983. She specialized in probate law but also worked in personal injury law.[3] Berryman was disbarred from practicing law in 2000 for commingling estate funds with her own and failing to fulfill the legal duties due to her client.[3][6]

Publications

Berryman wrote a textbook entitled Science of Man's Environment: principles of science and technology for environmental, marine, engineering, and ocean science technology,[7] which was published in 1986.

Family

Berryman had two daughters, D’Michelle Berryman (1957-1995), was an engineer and attorney, and Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson (1947-2010), was a research scholar, dance artist, and educator.[3] Berryman was involved with both of her children's practices and was also involved with the community through the Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, DC.[3]

Death

She died on May 6, 2003 in Washington D.C.[3] Her personal papers were donated to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center in 2010.[8]

References
  1. "United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  2. Warren, Wini (1999). Black women scientists in the United States. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.]: Indiana University Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-253-33603-3. Retrieved 21 February 2015. Matilene Berryman.
  3. Sewell-Williams, Lela J. (January 2016). "Matilene Spencer Berryman Papers". dh.howard.edu. Manuscript Division Finding Aids. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  4. Berryman, Matilene S. - Who's Who Among African Americans
  5. Administration, United States Department of Labor Manpower (1967). Success. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 18.
  6. "Bar Counsel: Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Legal Workplace". D.C. Bar. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  7. Berryman, Matilene S. (1986). Science of man's environment : principles of science and technology for environmental, marine, engineering, and ocean science technology. Washington, D.C.: Market Place of Ideas, Inc.
  8. Staff, MSRC (2023-05-01). "Guide to Resources on Women". Moorland Spingarn Research Center Publications.
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