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Dr. Percy L. Julian
Dr. Percy L. Julian was born in 1899 in Montgomery, AL. He graduated from DePauw University in 1920 where he majored in Chemistry. He went on to attend Harvard University and the University of Vienna, where he received his Master’s and Doctoral Degree’s respectively. For a while he taught Chemistry to earn a living before deciding to leave and conduct research in private industry. He studied the soybean for the Glidden Company of Chicago and later also managed its chemicals development division. It was around this time that Julian isolated the Soya protein, which became the basis for Aero-Foam, the fire extinguishing material that saw action in World War II. Dr. Julian grew to be greatly respected; in 1950 he was named “Chicago’s Man of the Year.” During that same year, he moved his family to Oak Park. In 1953, he founded the Julian Laboratories, Inc., and the Julian Laboratories of Mexico. In 1956, he became the first black and the first layman to head the Council for Social Action of the Congregational Christian Churches. Dr. Julian’s creativity and entrepeneurship resulted in more that 130 patents and the development of useful products for treating arthritis, glaucoma, and allergies. While still living, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was inducted into the prestigious National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. In 1983, Hawthorne School in Oak Park was renamed for Dr. Julian. |
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