Mary t washington biography

1906–2005

Accountant

Mary T. Washington was the first African-American woman to become a certified public accountant (CPA) in the United States, and she was the 13th African American to enter the profession.

Her influence extended beyond her pioneer status as she helped train a whole generation of younger black CPAs, even though in so doing she was creating competition for her own growing firm. Washington's partner Hiram Pittman, whom she hired as a newly minted CPA, described their firm as an Underground Railroad for black accountants, who came from across the United States to gain work experience.

Mary t washington biography

With her exacting but warm personality, Washington was a central figure in Chicago's large African-American business community in the middle years of the twentieth century.

Washington was born Mary Thelma Morrison in Vicks-burg, Mississippi, on April 21, 1906.

Her father, a carpenter, was proud of her ability to read an entire newspaper. After her mother died