“I remember, as a boy of 17 years of age, this was a fascinating thing for me: how we human beings breathe out carbon dioxide into the air, the leaves of plants pick this carbon dioxide up, and the plant gives off oxygen, which we can breathe in and keep our life going.” – Percy Julian
Point #1
Percy Lavon Julian was born April 11, 1899, in Montgomery, Alabama. His parents were graduates of what is now knowns as Alabama State University.
Point #2
Attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he had to take high school-level classes in the evening to get him up to the academic level of his peers. In spite of this challenging beginning, he graduated first in his class, with Phi Beta Kappa honors.
Point #3
Started as a chemistry teacher at Fisk University, then he started to attend Harvard for his Master’s degree. However, he withdrew because they rescinded his teacher’s apprenticeship because they didn’t think he would be accepted by the white students. So, he enrolled at Howard University as an instructor. While at Howard, he attended the University of Vienna for his doctorate degree and earned his Ph.D. in 1931.
Point #4
Married Anna Roselle (Ph.D. in Sociology, 1937, University of Pennsylvania). They had two children: Percy Lavon Julian, Jr. (August 31, 1940 – February 24, 2008), who became a noted civil rights lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin; and Faith Roselle Julian (1944– ), who still resides in their Oak Park home and often makes inspirational speeches about her father and his contributions to science
Point #5
Invented Aero-Foam, a product that uses soy protein to put out oil and gas fires and was widely used in World War II, as well as other soybean-based inventions. established his own laboratory, Julian Laboratories, in 1954. He sold the company in 1961, becoming one of the first black millionaires, before founding Julian Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that he ran for the rest of his life. Julian was the first black chemist elected to the National Academy of the Sciences, in 1973. In 1990 he was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 1999 his synthesis of physostigmine was recognized by the American Chemical Society as “one of the top 25 achievements in the history of American chemistry.”
Worked cited
Percy Julian – Civil Rights Activist, Medical Professional, Scientist …
Percy Lavon Julian – Wikipedia