Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Percy Lavon Julian, PH.D.

(1899~1975)

— Scientist & Humanitarian —

Percy Lavon Julian, PH.D. Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2025

1. Percy Lavon Julian, PH.D. Marker

Inscription.

Percy Lavon Julian, PH.D.. (1899~1975). , Born April 11, 1899, on the corner of Jefferson Davis Avenue and Holt Street, Percy Lavon Julian was the eldest child of James S. Julian and Elizabeth (Adams) Julian. He attended segregated public schools in Montgomery and spent two years at the State Normal School (today known as Alabama State University) graduating in 1916. After Julian enrolled in DePauw University, his family relocated to Greencastle, Indiana. Julian graduated as Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian in 1920. He then taught at Fisk University. He received an Austin Fellowship from Harvard University, where he earned an M.A. degree in 1923. Thereafter, he taught at West Virginia State College and Howard University. Julian received a 1929 General Education Board Fellowship, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, that enabled him to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Vienna in 1931. He was the fourth African American to obtain the degree. , Sponsored by PPG and the City of Montgomery. . , Julian returned to DePauw University in 1932 as a Research Fellow. There he undertook groundbreaking studies in natural products chemistry, including the first synthesis of the important anti-glaucoma drug physostigmine. , In 1936, Julian became director of research at a division of Glidden (now part of PPG) in Chicago. In 1954, he started his own company, Julian Laboratories. Julian authored more than 160 scientific publications and patents. Among his most notable contributions were the commercial production of intermediates used in the manufacture of vitamin D and of cortisone to treat arthritis. During World War II, he produced a fire-fighting foam used aboard American naval vessels. Percy Lavon Julian died on April 19, 1975, and is buried in Elmhurst, Illinois. A U.S. postage stamp was issued in his honor in 1993 as part of the Black Heritage Series. In 2022, Montgomery's Robert E. Lee High School was renamed Dr. Percy Julian High School in tribute to Julian's life and work. , Sponsored by PPG and the City of Montgomery. .

Born April 11, 1899, on the corner of Jefferson Davis Avenue and Holt Street, Percy Lavon Julian was the eldest child of James S. Julian and Elizabeth (Adams) Julian. He attended segregated public schools in Montgomery and spent two years at the State Normal School (today known as Alabama State University) graduating in 1916. After Julian enrolled in DePauw University, his family relocated to Greencastle, Indiana. Julian graduated as Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian in 1920. He then taught at Fisk University. He received an Austin Fellowship from Harvard University, where he earned an M.A. degree in 1923. Thereafter, he taught at West Virginia State College and Howard University. Julian received a 1929 General Education Board Fellowship, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, that enabled him to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Vienna in 1931. He was the fourth African American to obtain the degree.
Sponsored by PPG and the City of Montgomery.

Julian returned to DePauw University in 1932 as a Research Fellow. There he undertook groundbreaking studies in natural products chemistry, including

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the first synthesis of the important anti-glaucoma drug physostigmine.
In 1936, Julian became director of research at a division of Glidden (now part of PPG) in Chicago. In 1954, he started his own company, Julian Laboratories. Julian authored more than 160 scientific publications and patents. Among his most notable contributions were the commercial production of intermediates used in the manufacture of vitamin D and of cortisone to treat arthritis. During World War II, he produced a fire-fighting foam used aboard American naval vessels. Percy Lavon Julian died on April 19, 1975, and is buried in Elmhurst, Illinois. A U.S. postage stamp was issued in his honor in 1993 as part of the Black Heritage Series. In 2022, Montgomery's Robert E. Lee High School was renamed Dr. Percy Julian High School in tribute to Julian's life and work.
Sponsored by PPG and the City of Montgomery.

Erected 2025 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is April 11, 1899.

Location. 32° 21.89′ N, 86° 19.243′ W. Marker

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2025

2. Percy Lavon Julian, PH.D. Marker

is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is at the intersection of South Holt Street and Bullock Street, on the right when traveling south on South Holt Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 903 S Holt St, Montgomery AL 36108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Holt Street Baptist Church (a few steps from this marker); Highway Construction Destroys Historic Black Neighborhoods (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sherman W. White, Jr. (about 600 feet away); Loveless School / Henry Allen Loveless (approx. 0.2 miles away); From Bus Boycott to Voting Rights: Community Activism 1955-65

Marker with the Holt Street Church/Museum in background. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2025

3. Marker with the Holt Street Church/Museum in background.

(approx. 0.2 miles away); Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal AME Zion Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Black Churches Provide Significant Support for the March and Voting (approx. ¼ mile away); Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Other markers no longer nearby. Percy Lavon Julian (was here, next to this marker but has been confirmed missing); Cleveland Court Apartments (was approx. ¼ mile away but has been confirmed missing).

More about this marker. This double-sided marker indicates date of 2024 but was actually installed April, 12, 2025 in former location of missing single sided Percy Lavon Julian marker #86418 with different text.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Depaum University biography on Percy Lavon Julian. (Submitted on April 12, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Sign showing the Church was the Birthplace of the Modern Civil Rights Movement in America - 1955. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2025

4. Sign showing the Church was the Birthplace of the Modern Civil Rights Movement in America - 1955.

Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975) portrait. image. Click for full size.

Public Domain, 1950

5. Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975) portrait.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 12, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 231 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 12, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.