Percy Lavon Julian, an African American most noted for being an accomplished chemist and entrepreneur, was born on April 11, 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama. After finishing his studies at the segregated public school in Montgomery, Julian attended DePauw University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Although underprepared when he began at DePauw, he graduated in 1920 as valedictorian of his class and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Chi honor societies. Julian spent the next two years as a chemistry instructor at Fisk University. In 1922 he won a fellowship to do graduate work at Harvard, receiving an M.S. degree in 1923 and remaining there until 1926. His first position as a professor of chemistry at West Virginia State College for Negroes was followed by a chairmanship of the chemistry department at Howard University in 1927. While at Howard, he received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship that allowed him to work with Dr. Ernst Spath at the University of Vienna, Austria, on natural product chemistry.

After receiving a Ph.D. in 1931, Julian returned to DePauw as a research associate and collaborated with chemistry professor Josef Pikl, whom he had known in Vienna. They carried out the first total synthesis of the naturally-occurring drug, physostigmine, which is used to treat glaucoma. Julian left DePauw in 1936 to become Director of Research of the Soya Products Division of the Glidden Company and remained at Glidden for the next 17 years. Julian's work yielded over 100 patents. His many discoveries include a fire-retardant compound used in AeroFoam that U.S. troops used to extinguish gasoline and oil fires during World War II. He also developed a soybean oil extraction technique that lowered the cost of manufacturing testosterone and progesterone. In the 1940s, he created Compound S, a medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. In 1953, he founded Julian Laboratories, a very successful enterprise he later sold to Smith, Kline & French Laboratories.

Julian held a great number of honorary degrees and academic and civic awards. In 1973, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He died on April 19, 1975.

1. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Project NOVA Data Bank of Scientists: Percy Lavon Julian
2. The Lemelson-MIT Awards Program, Inventor of the Week Archives: Percy Lavon Julian
3. The National Inventors Hall of Fame: Percy Lavon Julian
4. The Black Inventor Online Museum: Percy Julian

1. Altman, S. Percy Lavon Julian. In Extraordinary Black Americans, From Colonial to Contemporary Times; Childrens Press: Chicago, 1989; pp 167-168.
2. The African-American Almanac; Estell, K., Ed.; Gale Research: Detroit, MI, 1994; p 1236.
3. Witkop, B. Black Achievers in Science, Teacher's Guide; Museum of Science and Industry: Chicago, 1988.
4. Witkop, B. Percy Lavon Julian, April 11,1899-April 19, 1975. In Biographical Memoirs; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1980; Vol. 52, pp 223-265.