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Inspired by Percy Julian Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899, Montgomery, Al. – April
19, 1975, Waukegan, Illinois) was a U.S. research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical
synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants.
As a young scholar, Julian always wanted to obtain his doctorate in
chemistry, but learned it would be difficult for an African-American. Despite this fact he continued to follow
dreams and aspirations. Julian attended DePauw
University in Greencastle, Indiana. Julian graduated from DePauw in 1920 Phi
Beta Kappa and valedictorian. After
graduating from DePauw, Julian became a chemistry instructor at Fisk University.
He then received an Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and went to Harvard
University in 1923 for his M.S. Apprehensive
that white students would resent being educated by an African-American, Harvard
withdrew Julian's teaching assistantship. He was unable to complete his Ph.D.
at Harvard. In 1929, while an instructor
at Howard University, Julian received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to
continue his graduate work at the University of Vienna, where he earned his PhD
in 1931. During his lifetime he received
more than 130 chemical patents. He was the first African-American chemist
inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
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