Julian Anti Glaucoma Drug Physostigmine

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(USA, 1899-1975) Percy Julian developed the anti-glaucoma drug physostigmine. Dr. Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, but educational opportunities for African Americans were limited in the South at that time, so he received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Julian worked his way through DePauw by digging ditches and waiting tables at a fraternity and in 1920, he graduated at the top of his class with a Phi Beta Kappa key. Eager to earn an advanced degree, his professors discouraged him, saying he would have great difficulty in pursuing his profession. After graduation, Julian joined the faculty of Nashville's historically black Fisk University. Later he moved to Massachusetts and enrolled…show more content…
Physostigmine was used to preserve sight by lessening the build-up of pressure caused by glaucoma, and it had only been available from its natural source, the Calabar bean. Though the achievement earned Julian worldwide acclaim, DePauw declined to appoint him to its faculty. Disgusted, he left academia and joined the Glidden Company in Chicago (today best known for its paints) as head of its soy products division. Julian used his knowledge of chemistry to make a wide variety of products from soybeans, including sex hormones, other steroids, and foams to extinguish oil and gas fires. In 1948, he developed a new way to synthesize the hydrocortisone used to treat rheumatoid arthritis - the method most widely used to this day. By the time he died in 1975, his research had resulted in more than 160 separate patents. As one of his tributes, the U.S. Postal Service recognized his contributions to science and issued a 29-cent Percy Julian stamp in 1993. The Julian stamp was part of a black heritage series that also recognized W.E.B. DuBois, Sojourner Truth, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King,

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