“It was then that I made my vow that I would forever fight to keep hope alive because there is always a way out.” – Percy Lavon Julian
Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1899. He faced social and academic prejudice, leaving him unprepared for higher education. Regardless, Julian graduated Depauw as valedictorian and earned a fellowship to obtain his master’s in organic chem at Harvard and earned his PhD at the University of Vienna. Julian discovered methods to produce progesterone and cortisone at industrial levels throughout his research. Julian has 19 honorary degrees and is in the N.A.S.