Percy Lavon Julian

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Lore & Background

Percy Lavon Julian was born on April 11, 1899, in Montgomery, Alabama, the first of six children. Both his parents were graduates of what was to be Alabama State University; his father was a clerk in the Railway Service of the United States Post Office, and his mother was a school teacher. Julian attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he faced segregation—he was not allowed to live in a dormitory, first stayed in a boarding home that refused to serve him meals, and took days to find a place to eat. He worked firing the furnace, waiting tables, and doing odd jobs in a fraternity house, sleeping in the attic and eating there. He graduated in 1920 as Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian. After earning an M.S. at Harvard University in 1923, Harvard withdrew his teaching assistantship, making it impossible to complete a Ph.D. there. In 1929, while an instructor at Howard University, he received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to study at the University of Vienna, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1931 under Ernst Späth. He was one of the first African Americans to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, after St. Elmo Brady and Edward M.A. Chandler. After returning from Vienna, Julian taught at Howard University but became entangled in scandals. At university president Mordecai Wyatt Johnson's request, he goaded white professor Jacob Shohan into resigning; Shohan retaliated by releasing Julian's letters to a local African-American newspaper. Julian also became involved in a conflict with his laboratory assistant Robert Thompson, who sued Julian for 'alienating the affections of his wife.' Thompson gave the paper intimate letters Julian had written, and through the summer of 1932, the Baltimore Afro-American published them. The pressure forced Julian to resign. His former mentor, William Martin Blanchard, offered him a position at DePauw in 1932. There, with Josef Pikl, Julian completed the total synthesis of physostigmine in 1935, confirming its structural formula—he noticed that Robert Robinson's published melting point was incorrect, indicating Robinson had not actually created it. Julian also extracted stigmasterol from the calabar bean, which he hoped could serve as raw material for synthesizing human steroidal hormones. In 1936, Julian joined the Glidden Company as director of research at its Soya Products Division in Chicago, where he supervised the construction of the world's first plant for producing industrial-grade isolated soy protein. During World War II, his soy protein was used to develop Aer-O-Foam, the U.S. Navy's firefighting foam, which saved thousands of lives. In 1947 the NAACP awarded Julian the Spingarn Medal for this achievement.

Reader's Guide

Percy Lavon Julian's significance lies in his pioneering work in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, which dramatically reduced the cost of steroid intermediates and expanded the use of drugs like synthetic cortisone. He was the first to synthesize physostigmine, and his industrial-scale synthesis of progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols laid the groundwork for the steroid drug industry, including the production of birth control pills. Julian was one of the first African Americans to earn a doctorate in chemistry, the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist overall, after David Blackwell. Despite facing racial discrimination—including being denied a professorship at DePauw in 1956, DuPont declining to hire him because they were 'unaware he was black,' and Appleton, Wisconsin being a sundown town that forbade African Americans from staying overnight—he persisted, receiving over 130 patents. His work at Glidden also advanced industrial applications of soy protein, including firefighting foam used by the U.S. Navy. Julian's legacy is that of a chemist who overcame systemic barriers to make foundational contributions to medicine and industry.

Did You Know?

• Julian was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist overall, after David Blackwell.
• During World War II, Julian's isolated soy protein was used to develop Aer-O-Foam, the U.S. Navy's firefighting foam that saved thousands of lives aboard ships and aircraft carriers.
• Julian noticed that Robert Robinson's published melting point for synthesized physostigmine was incorrect, meaning Robinson had not actually created it—Julian's synthesis matched the correct melting point of natural physostigmine.
• In 1947, the NAACP awarded Julian the Spingarn Medal, its highest honor, for his work on firefighting foam.
• Julian was denied a job at DuPont because the company apologized they were 'unaware he was black,' and Appleton, Wisconsin was a sundown town that explicitly stated 'No Negro should be a bed or boarded overnight in Appleton.'

Pioneering Steroid Chemistry and Industrial Impact

Julian's most transformative contribution was his work in the chemical synthesis of medicinal compounds derived from plant sources. He became the first individual to successfully synthesize physostigmine, a natural product, and went on to pioneer the large-scale industrial production of human hormones—specifically progesterone and testosterone—from plant sterols like stigmasterol and sitosterol. This foundational work opened the door for the broader steroid drug industry, enabling the mass production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and artificial hormones that ultimately made birth control pills possible. Julian took his expertise into the commercial arena by founding his own company dedicated to synthesizing steroid intermediates from wild Mexican yams. His methods dramatically lowered the cost of these intermediates for major multinational pharmaceutical firms, which in turn made critical drugs like synthetic cortisone far more accessible to patients. Over the course of his career, he accumulated more than 130 patents, a testament to the breadth and depth of his inventive output.

Education, Segregation, and the Road to a Doctorate

Growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, in a family where both parents were graduates of what would become Alabama State University, Julian was raised in a household that prized higher learning. At a time when African Americans rarely accessed education beyond the eighth grade, his parents pushed all six of their children toward college. At DePauw University in Indiana, Julian faced the humiliations of a segregated town—he was barred from the dormitory, refused meals at a boarding house, and eventually survived by working odd jobs in a fraternity house in exchange for attic lodging and food. He still graduated in 1920 as valedictorian and Phi Beta Kappa. His path to a doctorate was repeatedly obstructed by race: Harvard withdrew his teaching assistantship after white students objected to being taught by an African American, making a Ph.D. there impossible. It was only through a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship that he could continue graduate work at the University of Vienna under Ernst Späth, earning his doctorate in 1931. In Europe, he found intellectual freedom and social acceptance that had been denied him in America.

The Howard Scandal and a Career Reckoning

After returning from Vienna, Julian spent a year at Howard University, where his role as department head drew him into institutional politics. At the request of university president Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, he pressured white chemistry professor Jacob Shohan into resigning. Shohan retaliated by leaking Julian's personal letters from Vienna to the local African-American press. Around the same period, Julian's laboratory assistant Robert Thompson, whom Julian had recommended for dismissal, sued him for alienating his wife's affections. Julian counter-sued for libel, but when Thompson was ultimately fired, he too released intimate letters to the Baltimore Afro-American. Those letters exposed Julian's casual, sometimes derisive remarks about faculty members—including calling a prominent dean an 'ass'—as well as his scheming to manipulate the president regarding the chemistry building and to steer a professorial appointment. Through the summer of 1932, the newspaper published the full correspondence. The combined weight of the scandal and public pressure left Julian no choice but to resign.

Redemption, Recognition, and Lasting Legacy

At the nadir of his career, Julian received a lifeline from his former mentor William Martin Blanchard at DePauw, who offered him a position teaching organic chemistry in 1932, supported by a Rosenwald Fund grant. There, Julian and his fellow Viennese student Josef Pikl completed the total synthesis of physostigmine in 1935, confirming its structural formula and demonstrating that Robert Robinson's earlier published synthesis had been flawed. Julian's broader legacy extends far beyond any single molecule. His industrial methods for deriving steroid intermediates from Mexican yams reshaped the economics of pharmaceutical manufacturing, making cortisone and related drugs dramatically cheaper and more widely available. He became the first African-American chemist elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the second African-American scientist in any field to receive that honor, following David Blackwell. His more than 130 patents and his role in building the infrastructure of the modern steroid drug industry cement his place as one of the most consequential chemists of the twentieth century.