Percy Julian: Forgotten Chemist
Percy Julian was born in Montgomery, Ala., on April 11, 1899, the son of a railway clerk and the grandson of slaves. From the beginning, he did well in school, but there was no public high school for African Americans in Montgomery. Julian graduated from an all-Black normal school inadequately prepared for college (NHCL). Even so, in the fall of 1916, at the age of 17, he was accepted as a sub-freshman at DePauw. This meant that in addition to his regular college courses he took classes at a nearby high school (NHCL). He also had to work in order to pay his college expenses. Nevertheless, he excelled, graduating as the Valedictorian of his class (Kettle).
Percy Julian always had an interest in the field chemistry, and wanted to pursue that as his career. However, he was born in a time when African-Americans were not expected to pursue higher education, and was even discouraged by his family to pursue teaching chemistry at an all-black school, rather than a well-acclaimed college (that was predominantly if not all white) (Kettle). Still, Julian was always adamant about what he wanted to do with his life, and would not be easily swayed from what he already had his heart set on.
In the early 1930s, Julian, along with research partner Josef Pikl, undertook the challenging synthesis of physostigmine. Sir Robert Robinson, a very well respected chemist of the time, was also working on synthesizing the alkaloid; this was the make or break of Julian’s career as a chemist, since he was questioning the accuracy of Robinson’s (a white man) conclusion on alkaloid (Kettle). In 1935, Julian’s steps for the synthesis of physostigmine were proven to be correct. Furthermore, his synthesizing of the molecule caused a major chemical breakthrough, as it led to the treatment of glaucoma.
Due to his scientific victory, Julian was finally hired to be a chemist for the Glidden Company in 1936, after being turned away many times, not because he was underqualified but because of the color of his skin (Kettle). He became the head researcher for the Soya Products Division, and his work with soybeans led to his creation of the Aero-Foam (nicknamed “bean soup”), a fire retardant that saved many lives (Kettle). Julian also synthesized testosterone, progesterone and steroid cortisone, alkaloids that helped to create a treatment for arthritis (NHCL).
Although Julian mainly worked in the science industry, he would go on to become an advocate for the rights of African-Americans. He raised many funds for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in support of their movement for racial equality in the United States (Kettle). Julian paved the way for African-Americans to be a part of the science industry and to take on jobs in the field of science, other than continuing to be limited to being a science teacher in all-black colleges. His contributions as a chemist and an activist have not only impacted the science industry but also the world.
Percy Julian always had an interest in the field chemistry, and wanted to pursue that as his career. However, he was born in a time when African-Americans were not expected to pursue higher education, and was even discouraged by his family to pursue teaching chemistry at an all-black school, rather than a well-acclaimed college (that was predominantly if not all white) (Kettle). Still, Julian was always adamant about what he wanted to do with his life, and would not be easily swayed from what he already had his heart set on.
In the early 1930s, Julian, along with research partner Josef Pikl, undertook the challenging synthesis of physostigmine. Sir Robert Robinson, a very well respected chemist of the time, was also working on synthesizing the alkaloid; this was the make or break of Julian’s career as a chemist, since he was questioning the accuracy of Robinson’s (a white man) conclusion on alkaloid (Kettle). In 1935, Julian’s steps for the synthesis of physostigmine were proven to be correct. Furthermore, his synthesizing of the molecule caused a major chemical breakthrough, as it led to the treatment of glaucoma.
Due to his scientific victory, Julian was finally hired to be a chemist for the Glidden Company in 1936, after being turned away many times, not because he was underqualified but because of the color of his skin (Kettle). He became the head researcher for the Soya Products Division, and his work with soybeans led to his creation of the Aero-Foam (nicknamed “bean soup”), a fire retardant that saved many lives (Kettle). Julian also synthesized testosterone, progesterone and steroid cortisone, alkaloids that helped to create a treatment for arthritis (NHCL).
Although Julian mainly worked in the science industry, he would go on to become an advocate for the rights of African-Americans. He raised many funds for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in support of their movement for racial equality in the United States (Kettle). Julian paved the way for African-Americans to be a part of the science industry and to take on jobs in the field of science, other than continuing to be limited to being a science teacher in all-black colleges. His contributions as a chemist and an activist have not only impacted the science industry but also the world.
"We have a mixture of races and religions and we work together and get along. If American democracy won't work anywhere else, we are determined to make it work here in our laboratory." - Percy Julian
Works Cited:
“American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks. Percy Julian: Synthesis of Physostigmine.” Produced by National Historic Chemical Landmarks program of the American Chemical Society in 1999. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/ whatischemistry/landmarks/julian.html (Accessed December 1, 2018).
Kettler, Sara. “Black History Unsung Heroes: Dr. Percy Julian.” Biography, 22 Feb. 2015, https://www.biography.com/news/black-history-unsung-heroes-percy-julian.
Images Cited:
"Dr. Percy Julian." UIC Library Digital Collections. Flickr, 17 Dec. 2007, https://www.flickr.com/photos/uicdigital/4773934817.
"Percy Julian: A Scientist makes inroads in Chemistry and Civil Rights." National Endowment for the Humanities, Feb. 2007, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/januaryfebruary/feature/percy-julian.
"Who Was Percy Julian?" GSK Archives, 28 Feb. 2018, http://us.gsk.com/en-us/behind-the-science/our-people/who-was-percy-julian/.
Videos Cited:
"Five Black Chemists who Changed the World." Youtube, uploaded by Reactions, 3 Feb. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im_17N_JVAE
“American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks. Percy Julian: Synthesis of Physostigmine.” Produced by National Historic Chemical Landmarks program of the American Chemical Society in 1999. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/ whatischemistry/landmarks/julian.html (Accessed December 1, 2018).
Kettler, Sara. “Black History Unsung Heroes: Dr. Percy Julian.” Biography, 22 Feb. 2015, https://www.biography.com/news/black-history-unsung-heroes-percy-julian.
Images Cited:
"Dr. Percy Julian." UIC Library Digital Collections. Flickr, 17 Dec. 2007, https://www.flickr.com/photos/uicdigital/4773934817.
"Percy Julian: A Scientist makes inroads in Chemistry and Civil Rights." National Endowment for the Humanities, Feb. 2007, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/januaryfebruary/feature/percy-julian.
"Who Was Percy Julian?" GSK Archives, 28 Feb. 2018, http://us.gsk.com/en-us/behind-the-science/our-people/who-was-percy-julian/.
Videos Cited:
"Five Black Chemists who Changed the World." Youtube, uploaded by Reactions, 3 Feb. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im_17N_JVAE