Forgotten Genius: The Story of Percy Julian Student Handout

Name______

There are many African American scientists who made great discoveries in science but are not well known. February is Black History Month therefore we will be studying one of the greatest Organic chemists of the 20th century, Percy Julian, along with several other important scientists. The following worksheet is based partly but not entirely on the NOVA video, Forgotten Genius. Some of the questions will need to be researched and answered on your own.

1. Percy Lavon Julian was born on April 11, ______in ______, Alabama.

2. What Universities did Percy earn the following degrees?

A. Bachelor’s degree ______

B. Master’s degree______

C. Ph.D.______

3. What plant was physostigmine isolated from and what disease was it used to treat?

Plant name ______Disease ______

4. What was the reproductive hormone that Percy isolated from soybeans while working at Glidden? ______

5. What accident led Percy to discover the method to separate the hormone in #4 from the soybean oil? ______

6. What is the actual name of Compound-S that is used to treat arthritis?

______

7. What is the name of the fire fighting foam that was developed in WWII from the soy protein that Percy isolated?

______

8. What city and state is/was the Glidden Soy research laboratory located?

______, ______

9. What suburb did the Julian family move to where their house had both attempted arson and bombed with dynamite?

______

10. How many children did Percy have? ______

11. Where was the Institute of Paper Chemistry located (city and state) that refused to hire Percy as a chemist because it was illegal to house a “person of color” in town?

______, ______

12. What year was Percy named Chicagoan of the Year?______

13. What year was Percy honored by the US Post Office by issuing a commemorative stamp and what was the denomination?

Year ______Denomination ______

14. Define the following terms:

Organic chemistry:

Serendipity:

Natural Products Chemistry:

15. Give both the common and scientific name for the plants that each of the following products are isolated from?

Menthol______

Salicylic acid______

Quinine______

Chaulmoogric acid______

Curcumin______

Lycopene______

Morphine______

16. For each of the following persons list their occupation and what major contribution they made to science or society. {Scientist does not qualify as an occupation, list what subsection.}

Alice Augusta Ball (born July 24, 1892)

Marie Maynard Daly (born April 16, 1921)

Mae Jemison (born October 17, 1956)

George Washington Carver (born c.1864)

Elijah McCoy (born May 2, 1843)

17. Give three examples of an alkaloid compound.

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______