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Winter Homework Packet for February 18-23, 2019
Directions
. Read
the biography of Percy Julian
Summarize
what you have read.
Level 1: write two paragraphs on Dr. Julian
Level two: Write a one page essay on Dr. Julian this
should be 5 paragraphs long
Level 3: write a two page essay on Dr. Julian Percy
Percy
Julian Biography
Medical Professional,
Civil Rights Activist, Scientist, Chemist, Academic (1899–1975)
African-American
chemist Percy Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs
such as cortisone, steroids and birth control pills.
Who Was Percy Julian?
Born in Alabama in 1899, pioneering chemist Percy Julian was
not allowed to attend high school but went on to earn his Ph.D. His research at
academic and corporate institutions led to the chemical synthesis of drugs to
treat glaucoma and arthritis, and although his race presented challenges at
every turn, he is regarded as one of the most influential chemists in American
history.
Early Life
Percy Lavon Julian was born April 11, 1899, in Montgomery,
Alabama, the grandson of former slaves. He attended school through the eighth
grade but there were no high schools open to black students. He applied to
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.
Life in Academia
After college, Julian accepted a position as a chemistry
instructor at Fisk University. He left in 1923 when he received a scholarship
to attend Harvard University to finish his master’s degree, though the
university would not allow him to pursue his doctorate. He traveled for several
years, teaching at black colleges, before obtaining his Ph.D. at the University
of Vienna in Austria in 1931.
With his doctorate in hand, he returned to DePauw to
continue his research. In 1935 he earned international acclaim by synthesizing
physostigmine from the calabar bean to create a drug treatment for glaucoma,
but in spite of his success, the university refused to make him a full
professor because of his race.
Later Career
Desiring to leave academia, Julian applied for jobs at prominent
chemical companies, but was repeatedly rejected when hiring managers discovered
that he was black. Ultimately, he obtained a position at Glidden Company as the
lab director. There he 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.
Julian continued his biomedical work as well, and discovered
how to extract sterols from soybean oil and synthesize the hormones
progesterone and testosterone. He was also lauded for his synthesis of
cortisone, which became used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Julian left Glidden in 1953 and 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.
He died of liver cancer on April 19, 1975.
Recognition
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.”
Personal Life
Julian met his wife, Anna Roselle, while employed at Howard
University, and the two were accused of having an affair while she was married
to one of his colleagues. A scandal ensued and Julian was fired, but he and
Anna married in 1935 and had two children.
"The right of a people to live where
they want to, without fear, is more important than my science." - Percy
Julian
In 1950, Julian and his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois.
After they purchased their home but before they moved in, the house was
firebombed on Thanksgiving Day. It was attacked again in June, 1951.
Julian’s life was the subject of a documentary film made for
PBS’s Nova series, entitled Forgotten Genius.
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