Chemistry Genius Who Synthesized Cortisone & Saved Millions
April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975
🇺🇸 United States Chemistry & Materials SciencePercy Lavon Julian was born on April 11, 1899, in Montgomery, Alabama, the grandson of enslaved people and the son of a railway mail clerk. Born just 34 years after the end of slavery, Julian entered a world where African Americans faced brutal oppression, systematic exclusion from education, and violent enforcement of racial hierarchy. Montgomery, the former capital of the Confederacy, was a dangerous place for ambitious Black children who dared to dream beyond the limitations white society imposed upon them.
Julian's early life was marked by the devastating reality of segregation's impact on education. Montgomery offered no high school for African American students—Black children's education was deliberately limited to elementary grades to keep them from competing with whites. As a teenager with exceptional academic ability and an insatiable curiosity about science, Julian faced an impossible situation: he could not attend high school simply because of his race.
Despite this barrier, Julian's determination to pursue education never wavered. His parents, James and Elizabeth Julian, though of limited means, scraped together resources to send their brilliant son to college. In 1916, at age 17, Julian enrolled at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana—a predominantly white institution where he would be one of very few Black students.
Because Julian had been denied high school education in Alabama, DePauw classified him as a "sub-freshman"—below the level of incoming freshmen. He was required to take remedial courses at night to catch up while simultaneously handling a full college courseload during the day. To support himself, Julian worked as a waiter and performed other menial jobs. He faced constant racial discrimination, was barred from living in campus dormitories, and had to find housing with a Black family in town.
What happened next demonstrated Julian's extraordinary brilliance and determination. Despite starting "behind" his peers, working multiple jobs, and facing relentless discrimination, Julian not only caught up—he excelled beyond every other student. In 1920, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa as class valedictorian, earning the highest academic honors at DePauw. His achievement was so remarkable that it made national news—a young Black man who wasn't allowed to attend high school had become the top student at a major university.
Julian pursued graduate studies in chemistry at Harvard University, earning his Master's degree in 1923. His professors recognized his exceptional talent and wanted him to pursue a doctorate at Harvard. However, university administrators refused—they feared that a Black Ph.D. student in chemistry might need to teach white undergraduates in laboratory sections, which they deemed unacceptable in the racist climate of the 1920s. Julian's academic excellence was undeniable, yet racism blocked his path forward at America's most prestigious university.
Forced to teach at all-Black colleges to support himself, Julian spent several years at Fisk University and Howard University. Finally, in 1929, he received a fellowship to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Vienna in Austria. There, free from American racial restrictions, Julian thrived. In 1931, he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry, focusing on the complex synthesis of organic compounds. He became an expert in a field called natural products chemistry—the study of complex molecules produced by living organisms.
Returning to America with his doctorate, Julian joined the faculty at DePauw University. In 1935, he achieved a scientific breakthrough that established him as one of the world's leading organic chemists. Julian and his colleague Josef Pikl successfully synthesized physostigmine—a complex alkaloid compound derived from the Calabar bean.
Physostigmine was critically important as a treatment for glaucoma, a disease that causes blindness. Before Julian's synthesis, physostigmine could only be obtained from the rare Calabar bean, making it scarce and expensive. Julian's laboratory synthesis made this sight-saving drug more accessible and affordable. The achievement was brilliant chemistry—the molecule's complex structure had defeated numerous other chemists.
This accomplishment should have led to a tenured professorship at a major research university. Instead, Julian was denied such positions because of his race. When he married in 1935, the university administration, bowing to racist attitudes about interracial faculty social events, made clear he had no future at DePauw. Despite being one of the world's leading chemists, Julian could not secure an academic position worthy of his talents.
In 1936, Julian made a pragmatic decision that would change millions of lives. Unable to obtain a university position, he joined Glidden Company, a paint and varnish manufacturer in Chicago, as director of research. Glidden saw potential in soybean chemistry, and Julian became a pioneer in finding industrial and medical applications for soybean-derived compounds.
Julian's genius transformed soybean chemistry. He discovered how to extract soy protein in industrial quantities, creating products used in paper coatings, cold-water paints, and fire-retardant foams. During World War II, his soy-based "Aero-Foam" was used to extinguish oil and gasoline fires on ships and aircraft, saving countless sailors and pilots.
But Julian's most important work involved plant sterols—complex molecules in soybeans that resembled human hormones. Other chemists had shown that expensive animal sources could be converted to cortisone and other medicinal steroids, but the cost was prohibitive. Julian saw an opportunity: if he could develop an efficient process to convert cheap, abundant soybean sterols into these valuable medications, he could make life-saving treatments affordable.
In 1949, Percy Julian achieved one of the greatest pharmaceutical breakthroughs of the 20th century. He developed an efficient process to synthesize cortisone and other steroid hormones from soybeans. Before this breakthrough, cortisone cost hundreds of dollars per gram—far beyond what ordinary patients could afford. Julian's process reduced costs dramatically, making cortisone accessible to millions suffering from arthritis, inflammation, and numerous other conditions.
Julian also synthesized other vital steroids, including hormones used in birth control pills and medications for treating Addison's disease. His processes became the foundation for an entire industry—the mass production of steroid medications that today benefit billions of people worldwide. Arthritis patients who once faced crippling pain could now obtain affordable treatment. Inflammatory diseases became manageable. Julian's chemistry saved lives and relieved suffering on a massive scale.
In 1950, Julian purchased a home in Oak Park, Illinois, an affluent Chicago suburb. When white neighbors learned a Black family was moving in, rage erupted. On Thanksgiving Day 1950, while Julian's family slept, white supremacists firebombed his home. The family escaped physically unharmed, but the psychological terror was immense—Julian's young children were traumatized by the attack.
Rather than fleeing, Julian stood firm. He refused to let racism drive him from his home. In June 1951, racists struck again, planting dynamite outside his home in another attempted bombing. Again, the Julians survived. Percy Julian, one of America's greatest chemists who was saving millions of lives with his discoveries, couldn't live safely in his own home because of the color of his skin.
The attacks received national publicity and brought shame upon Oak Park. Eventually, community leaders rallied to support the Julians, and the violence ended. Julian's courage in facing down racist terrorism while continuing his groundbreaking scientific work exemplified extraordinary strength of character. He would not allow hatred to stop his contribution to humanity.
In 1953, Julian left Glidden to found his own company, Julian Laboratories, which specialized in synthesizing steroid medications from soybeans. The company was tremendously successful, and in 1961, Julian sold it for $2.3 million—making him one of the first African American millionaires. He used his wealth to support civil rights causes and to help other African Americans pursue scientific education.
Julian continued innovating until his death from liver cancer on April 19, 1975, just eight days after his 76th birthday. Over his career, he obtained more than 130 patents, published numerous scientific papers, and trained many younger chemists who carried forward his legacy of excellence.
Percy Julian's cortisone synthesis revolutionized medicine, making life-saving steroid medications affordable for millions worldwide. His genius transformed suffering into relief and death sentences into treatable conditions.
Percy Julian's life story is one of the most remarkable in American scientific history. A man who couldn't attend high school because of his race became one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century. A scientist whose home was firebombed by racists was simultaneously saving millions of lives with his inventions. Julian's story encapsulates both the cruelty of American racism and the indomitable power of human genius and courage.
Today, virtually everyone who has taken cortisone for inflammation, used steroid medications for allergies or autoimmune conditions, or benefited from birth control pills owes a debt to Percy Julian. His soybean-based synthesis processes made these medications accessible and affordable. Without Julian's work, countless people would have suffered needlessly or died from conditions that are now easily treatable.
Beyond his scientific contributions, Julian's legacy includes his unwavering dignity in the face of hatred. He refused to accept the limitations racism tried to impose. He persevered through barriers that would have defeated lesser people. He used his success to support civil rights and to help other African Americans pursue scientific careers. Percy Julian proved that genius recognizes no racial boundaries—and that one person's determination to overcome injustice can literally save millions of lives.
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