Percy Julian

Percy Julian was born in 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama. He was one of six children and grew up during the time of the Jim Crow laws. African Americans were not generally encouraged to be educated beyond the 8^th grade in Alabama at this time in history, but Percy’s parents pushed all of their children to higher education. Percy went to several universities, graduating as valedictorian from DePauw University in 1920, getting his masters from Harvard in 1923, and receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1931. After obtaining his degrees, he returned to DePauw and made a name for himself there by synthesizing physostigmine from the Calabar bean in 1935. He then became the director of research for the Glidden Company which made paint and varnish.

While working at the Glidden Company, Percy made several inventions. He developed Aerofoam, a liquid that could extinguish gasoline and oil fires, from soy protein extracts. He developed this during World War 2. Percy is most known for his synthesis of cortisone from soy beans. This greatly reduced the cost of it and made it much easier to produce for the treatment of inflammatory condition, such as arthritis.

Percy Julian died in 1975 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990.

Image of Percy Julian
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu/Portraits/images/julianc.jpg