A H I STORY OF
1889
George Washington Carver, botanist
and inventor, publishes the first of 44 practical
bulletins for farmers, describing how to grow
and use peanuts, soybeans and other crops.
black scientists
1937 William Warrick Cardozo demonstrates
that sickle cell anemia is inherited and that not all
people with sickle-shaped red blood cells suffer
the symptoms of the disease.
1947 Marie Maynard Daly, a graduate student
at Columbia University, becomes the first black
woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry.
1987 Benjamin S. Carson
leads the first medical team
that successfully separates
twins conjoined at the back of
the head.
1951
1932
Hildrus Augustus
Poindexter becomes the first
black person to receive both an
M.D., which he earns at Harvard
University in 1929, and a Ph.D.,
which he earns in bacteriology
at Columbia University in 1932.
1889
Alfred Oscar Coffin
becomes the first black person
to obtain a doctorate degree in
biological sciences.
1864
Rebecca Lee
Crumpler becomes the
first black woman to
graduate from medical
school in the U.S.
1914
Charles H. Turner
is the first to demonstrate
that insects can hear.
1939 Ernest Everett Just publishes
The Biology of the Cell Surface, an influential
textbook on the role of the cell surface in
embryology and development.
Jane C. Wright demonstrates that
methotrexate kills tumor cells. This leads to
the increased use of drugs, rather than radiation,
for the treatment of several forms of cancer.
1991 Kenneth Olden
is appointed director of
the National Institute of
Environmental Health
Sciences and the
National Toxicology
Program, becoming the
first black person to head
an institute of the
National Institutes of
Health.
1972
Roland B. Scott,
sometimes called the father
of sickle cell disease research,
founds the Howard University
Center for Sickle Cell Disease.
1933 Ruth Ella Moore
becomes the first black
woman in the U.S. to earn
a Ph.D. in bacteriology.
2012 Gary H. Gibbons is
appointed director of the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Gibbons, a clinician scientist,
made significant contributions
to the fields of vascular biology
and genomic medicine.
1981
Alexa Irene Canady
becomes the first black
female neurosurgeon.
1993 M. Joycelyn Elders
becomes the first black person
to be appointed surgeon general
of the United States.
1864 1876 1889 1893 1914 1925 1932 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 1947 1951 1965 1972 1974 1977 1979 1981 1987 1988 1991 1992 1993 2004 2011 2012 2013
1893 Daniel Hale Williams
performs the first successful
open heart surgery.
1925
Lloyd Augustus Hall develops
a preservation process known as flashdrying, which is still used to preserve
food and medical supplies today.
1977
Henry Hill
becomes the first
black president of
the American
Chemical Society.
1941
The first blood bank in
the U.S., set up by Charles
Richard Drew, begins operating.
1935
Percy Lavon Julian
completes the synthesis of
physostigmine, a drug now
used both as a treatment for
glaucoma and as an antidote to
several plant toxins.
1876
Edward Alexander
Bouchet earns a doctorate in
physics from Yale University,
becoming the first black
person to receive a doctoral
degree, in any subject, from
an American university.
1914 Saint Elmo Brady
becomes the first black person to
be admitted to the chemical honor
society Phi Lambda Upsilon. He
goes on to be the first black man
to earn a doctorate in chemistry,
graduating in 1916.
1988
Patricia Era Bath
receives a patent for the
cataract laser probe, a
device that painlessly
removes cataracts,
becoming the first black
woman doctor to receive
a patent for a medical
purpose.
2004
Stephen L. Mayo is elected
to the National Academy of Sciences
in recognition of his work on protein
engineering.
2011 William G. Coleman Jr.
is named scientific director of the
National Institute on Minority Health
and Health Disparities, becoming
the first black scientific director
in the history of the National
Institutes of Health Intramural
Research Program.
1974
Jewel Plummer Cobb ,
a cell biologist, is elected to the
Institute of Medicine in
recognition of her research on
treatments for skin cancer.
1965 David Harold Blackwell, a
mathematician who made important
contributions to the fields of applied
mathematics and statistics, becomes
the first black person to be inducted
into the National Academy of Sciences.
1979 LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., a
surgeon known for his dedication to
educating the public and medical
community about cancer risks for
minorities, becomes the first black
president of the American Cancer
Society.
1992 Mae Jemison, physician
and chemical engineer by training,
becomes the first black woman in
space. She later starts a medical
device company based on space
technology.
2013 Joseph Francisco
is elected to the National
Academy of Sciences in
recognition of his work on
atmospheric chemistry.
ASBMB diversity initiatives:
• Distinguished Undergraduate Scholarship supports students who
demonstrate an interest in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology
and who are committed to enhancing diversity in science.
• Annual grant-writing workshop and mentorship program helps
assistant professors and postdoctoral scholars write successful research
proposals.
• MSI-Student Chapters partnerships mentor and support new ASBMB
Student Chapters that form at minority serving institutions.
• Research Spotlight features interviews with scientists from diverse
backgrounds who are pursuing a variety of career paths.
• Partnership for Diversity is an e-newsletter for minority scientists and
those interested in promoting diversity in science.
• Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award honors outstanding
scientists who have shown a strong commitment to the encouragement of
underrepresented minorities to enter the scientific enterprise and/or to the
effective mentorship of those within it.
• Hands-on Opportunities to Promote Engagement in Science (HOPES)
provides seed grants to incentivize and support the development of
outreach partnerships between researchers and K – 12 educators.
For more information on ASBMB initiatives
and member benefits, visit www.asbmb.org.
A H I STORY OF
black scientists
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology celebrates important
contributions and achievements in science and technology made by black scientists.