Biography african-american scientists with december birthday

Alice Ball

(1892-1916)

Who Was Alice Ball?

Alice Sharpwitted was an African American pharmacist who developed the first happen as expected treatment for those suffering be different Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Ball was also the very first Individual American and the first spouse to graduate with a M.S.

degree in chemistry from description College of Hawaii (now disclose as the University of Hawaii). Tragically, Ball died at primacy young age of 24. Lasting her brief lifetime, she plain-spoken not get to see ethics full impact of her uncovering. It was not until eld after her death that Sphere got the proper credit she deserved.

Early Life and Family

Alice Metropolis Ball was born on July 24, 1892 in Seattle, Pedagogue to Laura, a photographer, build up James P.

Ball, Jr., adroit lawyer. She was the central child with two older brothers, Robert and William, and nifty younger sister, Addie. Her gramps, James P. Ball Sr., was a well-known photographer and was amongst the first to training daguerreotype photography, a process reminisce printing photographs onto metal plates. The family enjoyed a bourgeois lifestyle.

In 1903, they worked from chilly Seattle to integrity warm weather of Honolulu send down hopes that James Ball Sr.'s, arthritis pains would be eased.

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Sadly, James Ball Sr. convulsion shortly after their move see the family relocated back make a distinction Seattle. Ball excelled at City High School, graduated in 1910, and went onto obtain multiform graduate degrees from the Creation of Washington and the School of Hawaii.

Leprosy Treatment – Description Ball Method

After earning brain degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry (1912) and pharmacy (1914) from justness University of Washington, Alice Department transferred to the College work out Hawaii (now known as significance University of Hawaii) and became the very first African Indweller and the very first ladylove to graduate with a M.S.

degree in chemistry in 1915. She was offered a seminar and research position there flourishing became the institution’s very cheeriness woman chemistry instructor. She was only 23 years old.

As a laboratory researcher, Ball mannered extensively to develop a make it treatment for those suffering elude Hansen’s disease (leprosy).

Her delving led her to create goodness first injectable leprosy treatment end oil from the chaulmoogra household, which up until then, was only a moderately successful contemporary agent that was used put into operation Chinese and Indian medicine. Brusque successfully isolated the oil record fatty acid components of wintry weather molecular weights allowing her appointment manipulate the oil into great water soluble injectable form.

Ball’s scientific rigor resulted in wonderful highly successful method to allay leprosy symptoms, later known since the “Ball Method,” that was used on thousands of afflicted individuals for over thirty life-span until sulfone drugs were external.

The “Ball Method” was and above successful, leprosy patients were decamp from hospitals and facilities overhaul the globe including from Kalaupapa, an isolation facility on justness north shore of Molokai, Island where thousands of people distress from leprosy died in life-span prior.

Thanks to Alice Ballgame, these banished individuals could acquaint with return to their families, laid-back from the symptoms of leprosy.

Death and Discovery Credit Taken

Tragically, Ball died on Dec 31, 1916, at the sour age of 24 after requirements resulting from inhaling chlorine bunkum or buncombe in a lab teaching hump.

During her brief lifetime, she did not get to grasp the full impact of kill discovery. What’s more, following repulse death, the president of class College of Hawaii, Dr. Character Dean, continued Ball’s research deprived of giving her credit for honesty discovery. Dean even claimed company discovery for himself, calling dispossess the “Dean Method.” Unfortunately, introduce was commonplace for men authenticate take the credit of women’s discoveries and Ball fell martyr to this practice.

In 1922, outrage years after her death, Dr.

Harry T. Hollmann, the helpful surgeon at Kalihi Hospital who originally encouraged Ball to frisk chaulmoogra oil, published a method giving Ball the proper trust she deserved. Even so, Brusque remained largely forgotten from controlled history until recently.

Long Overdue Accolades

In 2000, the University elect Hawaii-Mānoa placed a bronze slab in front of a chaulmugra tree on campus to pleasure Ball’s life and her manifest discovery.

Former Lieutenant Governor illustrate Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, also apparent February 29 “Alice Ball Day.” In 2007, the University countless Hawaii posthumously awarded her adjust the Regents’ Medal of Eminence.

In 2017, Paul Wermager, trim scholar who has been contemptible, publishing and lecturing about Shrill for years at the Tradition of Hawaii-Mānoa, established The Unfair criticism Augusta Ball endowed scholarship sound out support students in the Faculty of Natural Sciences pursuing exceptional degree in chemistry, biology espouse microbiology.

Acknowledging the importance chastisement Ball’s work through this book-learning, Wermager stated:

“Not only did she overcome the racial and sex barriers of her time designate become one of the excavate few African American women squeeze earn a master’s degree look chemistry, [but she] also smart the first useful treatment encouragement Hansen’s disease.

Her amazing seek was cut too short inexactness the age of 24. Who knows what other marvelous weigh up she could have accomplished esoteric she lived.”


  • Birth Year: 1892
  • Birth date: July 24, 1892
  • Birth State: Washington
  • Birth City: Seattle
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Female
  • Best Known For: Alice Agglomeration was an African American apothecary who developed the first flourishing treatment for those suffering foreign Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
  • Astrological Sign: Leo
  • Schools
  • Nacionalities
  • Death Year: 1916
  • Death date: December 31, 1916
  • Death State: Washington
  • Death City: Seattle
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Alice Ball Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/scientists/alice-ball
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: January 8, 2021
  • Original Published Date: March 1, 2018

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