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Scientific Biographies

Science is a human pursuit. Meet some of the people who have contributed to the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.
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Percy Lavon Julian

The grandson of enslaved people, Julian overcame racial barriers to achieve scientific, business, and personal success.

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Dr. Percy Lavon Julian is pictured at the newly constructed chemistry building named in his honor at MacMurray College, 1972.
Science History Institute
Dr. Percy Lavon Julian honored at MacMurray College

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A sepia-toned portrait of a woman with wavy hair, smiling, wearing a dark top.
Florence Ogilvy Bell
1913 - 2000
Portrait of Helia Bravo-Hollis, 2001.
Helia Bravo-Hollis
1901 - 2001
Undated portrait of Stanislao Cannizzaro
Stanislao Cannizzaro
1826 - 1910
Undated portrait of mycologist Vera Charles
Vera Katherine Charles
18771954 - 1954
Charles Drew is seated at a counter wearing a lab coat and touching a microscope
Charles Richard Drew
1904 - 1950
Engraved portrait of du Pont wearing a dark coat and high collar shirt with white tie
Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
1771 - 1834
sepia-toned portrait of Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
1778 - 1850
Autographed etching of Fritz Haber, 1922
Fritz Haber
1868 - 1934
•\tLavoisier. Engraved by François Séraphin Delpech, after a drawing by Belliart, after the painting by Jacques Louis David.
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier
1743 - 1794
man standing at a table looking down
Eizi Matuda
1894 - 1978
portrait of a man with a beard
Hudson Maxim
1853 - 1927
black and white photo of a man
Isaac Ochoterena
1895 - 1950
b/w photo of a women seated in a dress
Mary Engle Pennington
1872 - 1952
Illustration of Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
1733 - 1804
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Petr Rehbinder
1898 - 1972
Black and white photograph of Glenn T. Seaborg in an office
Glenn Theodore Seaborg
1912 - 1999
sepia toned portrait of a man in coat and riding boots
Ignaz Semmelweis
1818 - 1865
color photo of a man with a baby on his shoulders
Calvin Ross Sperling
1957 - 1995
Harvey Washington Wiley
1844 - 1930

About Scientific Biographies

Everything you need to know about our scientific biographies, including how to contact us, cite a biography, pitch a scientist, write a biography, or republish a biography.