America might be on the pinnacle of a great change–namely having the first black President of the United States. The democratic primary race is still competitive between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. I was just in Washington, DC, over the President’s Day weekend and it was truly inspiring to see the support for Mr. Obama amongst people who before were apathetic to the political system. One friend felt that for the first time she was “not just voting for the lesser of two evils.” Yet, inspiring change is not uncommon in African American history. In continuance of the Famous African American Scientists blog in January, below are three more noteworthy and prominent African American pioneers in science and technology. Although their names might not be famous, their work continues to mold the way we live our lives today.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856 – 1931)
Physician
Williams was born in Pennsylvania. He helped support his family after his father died when he was nine. At first, he worked as a shoemaker’s apprentice. Then as a teenager, he learned to cut hair and became a barber. While working as a barber, he met Dr. Henry Palmer, who later became the Surgeon General of Wisconsin. Dr. Palmer took Daniel on as a medical apprentice; and helped him gain acceptance to medical school. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams graduated with his medical degree in 1883. Disillusioned with the second-class care for African Americans, he founded the Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891, the first African American-owned hospital in the United States. He made history at Provident Hospital by performing the first successful open heart surgery in 1893. His patient James Cornish, injured from a knife wound, fully recovered and lived for another twenty years.

Percy L. Julian (1899 – 1975)
Chemist
Alabama-born Julian held a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University. He was unable to procure a chemistry Ph.D. from Harvard University because of discrimination, and left after receiving a master’s degree. He later received a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1931. He became a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He gained over 130 chemical patents in his lifetime. The most notable patent was for the production of cortisone. For his contributions to medicine, he became the fist African American chemist inducted in the National Academy of Sciences.

Elijah McCoy (1844 – 1929)
Inventor
The son of escaped slaves from Kentucky, McCoy was born in Canada and educated in Scotland. Settling in Detroit, Michigan, he invented a lubricator for steam engines. It was patented in 1872. Lubricators were a boon for railroads. Trains could run faster with less need to stop for lubrication and maintenance, thus improving profit lines. McCoy improved on the lubricator design over his lifetime as well as amassing over 50 other patents. Lacking the revenue to manufacture his own lubricators, he sold the patents to employers until 1920 when he was able to open Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company. It is still disputed today if the phrase “The real McCoy” was derived to compare McCoy lubricators to generic and inferior copies.

Cat Aboudara is the Special Projects Manager at California Academy of Sciences and works in the public programs division. The Academy is a wonderful fit for her because of her curiosity about the natural world and her experience in working with native California wildlife.

latitude: 37.7734, longitude: -122.454

Diversity of thought has always been a cornerstone of science; however, diversity amongst scientists has often gone unnoticed. Martin Luther King’s birthday was just celebrated in remembrance of his leadership in the African American community. However, he is not the only pioneer who has brought about great and lasting change. Below are just two examples of the great scientists and innovators in the African American community who have graced the history of science for the betterment of mankind.

George Washington Carver: (1864-1943)
Agricultural Chemist and Innovator

On the epitaph on the grave of George Washington Carver it reads, “He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.”

Through his work as an agricultural chemist, Dr. George Washington Carver changed the agriculture of the South by discovering three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. From the peanut Dr. Carver created meal, instant and dry coffee, bleach, tar remover, wood filler, metal polish, paper, ink, shaving cream, rubbing oil, linoleum, synthetic rubber, and plastics. From the soybean he obtained flour, breakfast food, and milk. He also significantly boosted the agricultural economy by formulating the crop rotation method, which revolutionized agricultural practice. He educated the farmers to alternate the soil-depleting cotton crops with soil-enriching crops such as peanuts, peas, soybeans, sweet potato, and pecans. He did not profit from these discoveries but freely gave them for the benefit of mankind, and it was said he turned down a $100,000 salary in order to continue his agricultural work. Rising from slavery in Diamond, Missouri, Doctor Carver struggled to gain an education and used it to give back to the land. Dr. Carver died in 1943 and was buried next to Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute where he worked as the Director of Agriculture. On July 17, 1960 the George Washington Carver National Monument was dedicated at Dr. Carver’s birth site. This was the first U.S. federal monument dedicated to an African-American.

Matthew Henson

Matthew Alexander Henson (1866-1955)
Arctic Explorer

“As I stood at the top of the world and thought of the hundreds of men who had lost their lives in the effort to reach it, I felt profoundly grateful that I, as the personal attendant of the commander, had the honor of representing my race in the historic achievement.”

Matthew Henson was the first man to reach the geographic North Pole with long time colleague and explorer Robert Peary. Henson was born of poor parents in Charles County, Maryland. His parents died at the age of twelve and he was then shipped off to be a cabin boy on a merchant ship. He educated himself on the sea and became a skilled navigator. Henson met Commander Robert Peary in 1888 and joined him on an expedition to Nicaragua. Peary was impressed with Henson’s seamanship and recruited him as a colleague. For years they made many trips together, including Arctic voyages in which Henson developed trading with the Eskimos by learning their language, building sleds and training dog teams. In 1909, Peary led his eighth attempt to reach the North Pole and selected Henson to be one of the team of six who would make the final run to the Pole. Peary became ill before reaching the summit and sent Henson ahead as a scout. Later, when measurements were taken, it was discovered that Henson, during his scouting had been the first mortal to walk on the top of the world. Although it was Peary who got most of the acclaim for the exploration, it was Henson who made the first historic steps. On November 28, 2000, the National Geographic Society recognized those steps and awarded the Hubbard Medal to Matthew A. Henson posthumously.

Cat Aboudara is the Special Projects Manager at California Academy of Sciences and works in the public programs division. The Academy is a wonderful fit for her because of her curiosity about the natural world and her experience in working with native California wildlife.

latitude: 37.769, longitude:-122.467