Percy Lavon Julian: Let the Laboratory Become a Doorway to Relief

Percy Lavon Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, the grandson of formerly enslaved people, in a household that prized education despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South. He earned his bachelor's at DePauw University and a master's at Harvard — but Harvard wouldn't let him pursue a doctorate there. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna instead, in 1931.

Julian became known for synthesizing cortisone, hormones, and other medicinal compounds from soybeans. He was the first to fully synthesize physostigmine, used to treat glaucoma, and later pioneered large-scale synthesis of hormones like progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols. That work helped make treatments for arthritis and other conditions dramatically more affordable and accessible to the people who needed them.

What he left behind

• First to achieve full synthesis of physostigmine, used to treat glaucoma
• Pioneered large-scale synthesis of hormones, including progesterone and testosterone, from plant sterols
• His research contributed to methods for synthesizing cortisone from soybeans, helping lower its cost for patients
• Founded his own research company, later sold to a major pharmaceutical firm

Julian earned his degrees at a time when American universities routinely denied Black students doctoral opportunities regardless of merit; he had to go abroad, to Vienna, to finish what U.S. institutions wouldn't let him complete.

"Let the laboratory become a doorway to relief."

About this set

Julian's card is one of six in Set 1B — The Patternmakers, part of the Continuum: Builders, Thinkers & Strategists digital postcard collection. The Patternmakers gathers scholars and scientists who broke into fields that were never built with them in mind.

Shop The Patternmakers set or get the Complete Collection (all 12 cards).