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(April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an African American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; and was an African American pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam. His work helped reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to large multinational pharmaceutical companies.

During his lifetime he received more than 130 chemical patents. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.

Percy Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama to Elizabeth Lena Adams and James Sumner Julian (1871–1951). James was a railway mail carrier for the United States Post Office, and his father was a slave. Elizabeth worked as a school teacher. Percy Julian grew up in the time of Jim Crow. Among his childhood memories was finding a lynched man hung from a tree while walking in the woods near his home. While it was generally unheard of for African Americans at the time to pursue an education beyond the 8th grade, Julian's parents steered all of their children toward higher education.

Julian attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. The college accepted few African-American students. The segregated nature of the town forced social humiliations. Julian was not allowed to live in the college dormitories and first stayed in an off-campus boarding home, which refused to serve him meals. It took him days before Julian found an establishment where he could eat. He worked firing the furnace and doing other odd jobs in a fraternity house. In return, he was allowed to sleep in the attic and eat at the house. Julian graduated from DePauw in 1920 Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian. By 1930 Julian's father had moved the entire family to Greencastle, Indiana so that all his children could attend college at DePauw. The father was still working as a railroad postal clerk.

Julian wanted to obtain his doctorate in chemistry, but learned it would be difficult for an African American. After graduating from DePauw, Julian became a chemistry instructor at Fisk University. He then received an Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and went to Harvard University in 1923 for his M.S. Worried that white students would resent being taught by an African American, Harvard withdrew Julian's teaching assistantship. He was unable to complete his Ph.D. at Harvard.

In 1929, while an instructor at Howard University, Julian received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to continue his graduate work at the University of Vienna, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1931. He studied under Ernst Späth and was considered an impressive student. In Europe, he found freedom from the racial prejudices that had nearly stifled him in the States. He freely participated in intellectual social gatherings, went to the opera and found greater acceptance among his peers. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, after St. Elmo Brady and Edward M. A. Chandler. During Julian's lifetime he earned more than 138 chemical patents for his work. Percy Julian was the second African American to get a masters degree in chemistry.[citation needed] He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.

After returning from Vienna, Julian taught at Howard University for one year, where he met his future wife, Anna Roselle Johnson (Ph.D. in Sociology, 1937, University of Pennsylvania). They married on December 24, 1935 and had two children: Percy Lavon Julian, Jr. (1940-February 24, 2008), who became a prestigious civil rights lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin; and Faith Roselle Julian (1944- ), who still resides in their Oak Park home and often makes moving speeches about her father and his contributions to science.

At Howard, Julian got involved in university politics and set off an embarrassing chain of events. After he goaded, at the University President's request, a white chemist named Jacob Shohan into resigning, Shohan retaliated by releasing to the local African-American newspaper the letters Julian had written to him from Vienna. The letters contained accounts of Julian's sex life, and criticism of individual Howard faculty members. Julian's laboratory assistant, Robert Thompson, also charged he had found his wife and Julian together in a sexual tryst. When Thompson was fired for filing a lawsuit a

Alex O. Ellis

"We are always in a process of refinement, especially in the school of life." -Alex O. Ellis

Alex Ellis is redefining the meaning of style. An author, speaker, custom clothier, mentor, and gentleman of integrity and distinction, Ellis is turning heads across the nation through his well-dressed stature and inspirational words. He has been recently featured on CNN’s “Reclaiming the Dream”, Black Enterprise’s Our World Television Show, The 700 Club, BET and the Steve Harvey Morning Show. Honored with the distinguished 40-Under-Forty award from the Network Journal, Ellis is heralding a powerful message on image from the inside out.

Nationally-recognized as an inspirational speaker, Ellis passionately delivers a fresh perspective that stimulates human potential; a lesson he shares from his own personal testimony of overcoming a battle with self esteem. In addition to his personal experience, several years of research and experience have distinguished him as an authority on image coaching from the inside out, which he hopes to inspire wholesome sophistication in others. He travels the extensively sharing this message of promise to anyone aspiring to defy mediocrity.

In every role of leadership, this native of New Jersey proves to be one of this era’s leading men. A man of conviction, Ellis accepts his responsibility of social impartation, fervently taking a hands-on approach with his campaign, “Tied to Greatness”, a national outreach program targeting the image of inner city high school males. This 11-city tour is an innovative approach that is making headlines across the country, as Ellis has called men of color to join forces to take action by teaching young men the power of image, and how to convey their inner and outer personalities with a sense of strong character, pride and dignity. He has emerged not only as a non-traditional role model for the next generation, but also a leader who calls men to action. A voice for each generation, he also inspires men as Chaplain for the Police and Fire Department in the city of New Brunswick.

Ellis completed his formal education by receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree at North Carolina A & T State University and Masters Degree of Theological Studies at Rutgers University. A strong advocate for “maintaining the posture of a student”, Ellis fervently believes, “We are always in a process of refinement, especially in the school of life.”

Ellis shows no sign of slowing down, as it is apparent in his passionate drive to revive the impeccable fashion chic of the Renaissance man. He also wears an entrepreneurial hat as CEO of Simply Ellis LLC, a custom clothing company that specializes in fine custom suits, shirts, Italian neckwear, and exquisite cuff links, while celebrating the unique style of every client he services.

Ellis aims to restore the pride of men in his African American Literary Award-winning book, Restoring the Male Image…A Look From the Inside Out. While exploring the blend of character, style, and sophistication in the image of a man, Ellis introduces the reader to a powerful acronym by exploring a series of qualities to help men identify and understand their I.M.A.G.E.: I=Integrity; M=Manhood; A=Authority; G=Generosity; E= Excellence. This book provokes men to take a deeper look both inside and out to determine whether their expression is a reflection of their authentic self.

Ellis is a member of The Berkeley College Fashion Advisory Board, The Custom Tailors and Designers Association of America (CTDA), 100 Black Men of America, and National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP).