Percy+Julian

Percy Lavon Julian ( April 11 1899- April 19 1975). Matt Delgado

Percy Julian was one of the first African-Americans who achieved a PHD in chemistry but also was a great civil rights worker making him a very important person of american history. =Outline-=

Background-
Childhood- History (what was going on at the time)- Education- Area-

Influence-
Chemistry/science influence- Civil rights influence-

Discoveries-
Inventions(if any)- research- discoveries-

Other-
Hardships/Failures- Rewards- Achievments- Occupation-

Notes: []
 * Known for drug he formulated to treat glaucoma and for synthesizing sex hormones and cortisone
 * Mother Elizabeth Julian taught school
 * Father James Julian, rail road mail clerk
 * Graduated from the State Normal School for Negroes in 1916
 * Graduated from Phi Beta Kappa in DePauw University in 1920
 * Was able to study at Harvard University earned master’s degree in chemistry in 1923 worked there for three years more as research fellow
 * Taught school for 6 years then got PhD in chemistry at University of Vienna
 * went to DePauw’s chemistry department in 1932-1936
 * Married Anna John and had two children
 * 1935 made physostigmine, treats glaucoma, swelling of the brain, skin and kidney disease, bronchial asthma, and leukemia.
 * Denied a job at the Institute of Paper Chemistry because of his race
 * Went to Glidden’s soya research center in Chicago, later called Julian Laboratories
 * Extracted sterols from soybeans, with this, in 1950 he lowered the price of synthetic sterols helping arthritics obtain cortisone.
 * Synthesized progesterone and testosterone
 * Discoveries helped treat cancer, and helped with pregnancy problems and menstrual disorders
 * Founded his own institute in Franklin Park, Illinois, in 1953
 * In 1964, sold his facilities and retired to Oak Park, Illinois.
 * Died from cancer on April 19, 1975
 * Named man of the year by the Jaycees and the Chicago Sun-Times.
 * Born in Montgomery Alabama on April 11, 1899

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 * Became Chief chemist and director of the Soya Product division with the Glidden Company.
 * First black hired at such a position
 * Came up with aero-foam which worked as flame retardant
 * This wased used by united states navy, and saved many lives of soldiers during world war 2
 * Company settled in Chicago 1935
 * Developed male and female hormones from soybeans
 * Made the soybean substitute for cortisone, greatly relieved pain of sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis
 * Home was set on fire by an arsonist on thanksgiving 1950
 * Year later dynamite was thrown at his house threatening his children because he was black
 * Left Glidden Company to establish Julian Laboratories
 * Here, he discovered that yams were more effective than soybeans, for some of his products in Mexico
 * Sold his Oak park Plant to Smith, Kline and French, and received 2.3 million dollars, amazing for a black man
 * Was finally recognized as a genius after years of work
 * Received Springarn Medal from NAACP
 * Dismissed from many jobs and schools do to his race
 * He was an assistant teacher because white students refused to be taught by a black professor
 * Was talked out of being Chair of chemistry department in DePauw but was talked out of because of his race
 * Glidden company counted on him for developing compounds from soybeans to make paints and other products
 * Julian did not fail them
 * In 1950 Chicago named him Chicagoan of the year.
 * Grew up with Jim Crow laws and grandparents were slaves.
 * Julian knew, when 12 came across body hanging on a tree
 * Julian’s parents and Julian knew that the only way out was an education
 * He had to go to teacher training school for African Americans before being excepted into highschool
 * Was hard to go to college
 * Took 10 years of his life to get a PhD
 * He came back from Vienna and went to Howard University
 * He became chairman of chemistry there, but then forced to resign, went to DePauw, couldn’t even teach
 * Career was saved by synthesis of physostigmine
 * Still, institutes refused to accept a negro
 * Received vandalism and threatening letters.
 * Glidden accepted him, became first black chemist to direct a chemical research laboratory
 * Over the next years he trained other black chemists
 * As he got older he became a more proactive civil rights worker
 * Lead a national fundraising campaign for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
 * He gave interviews and speeches
 * "unfit to spend their money for food or drink in public places along with other Americans; denied the ballot and confined to ghettos that stifled hope and ambition, victims of murder of the mind, heart, and spirit—this is the story of the American Negro." His words
 * Became a role model for young blacks facing racism
 * Greatest contribution to improving the status of black men was serving as an inspiration
 * No one could say that blacks couldn’t do science anymore
 * Physostigmine is an alkaloid found in the Calabar bean
 * Glaucoma is when the pressure in the eyeball increases, can cause loss of vision
 * Physositgmine is still used today for treatment of glaucoma and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
 * Took 3 years and 11 synthetic steps
 * Was tough, worked against Robert Robinson also trying to synthesize
 * Josef Pikl helped with the synthesizing
 * Difficult because chemical structure was found in no analog in other plant products known composition
 * While trying to isolate geneserin discovered small crystals of the hydrate of stigmasterol.
 * Stigmasterol possessed a structure composed of 17 carbon atoms arranged in 4 fused rings
 * This was also found in biological compounds like cholesterol and sex hormones.
 * Known as steroids, these compounds were great therapeutic angents
 * Extracting the sex hormones from the soy beans reduced the cost for public but helped Glidden keep a profit
 * He led to the daily production of 100 pounds of soybean sterols worth 3.6$ million annually.
 * Synthesized Reichstein’s Substance S in 1948
 * 4this synthesis produced hydrocortisone
 * Used to treat rheumatoid arthritis
 * Developed synthesis for many steroids
 * Later worked on the synthesis of the yohimbine alkaloids
 * Uncovered the metabolism of tryptophan
 * This was one of the amino acids essential for healthy living

Works Cited Citations

"Percy Lavon Julian Biography | BookRags.com." //BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More//. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. [].

"Percy Julian - Black Inventor Online Museum." //The Black Inventor Online Museum - a Look at Black Inventors and Their Contributions to Society//. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. [].

"Julian the Trailblazer." //Pbs.org//. NOVA Onlie. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. [].

//American Chemical Society - The World's Largest Scientific Society.// Web. 09 Oct. 2011. [].