CHEMIST

Percy Lavon Julian

1899 - 1975

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Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. Julian was the first person to synthesize the natural product physostigmine, and a pioneer in industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and artificial hormones that led to birth control pills. Julian started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from wild Mexican yams. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Percy Lavon Julian is the 593rd most popular chemist (down from 581st in 2019), the 13,488th most popular biography from United States (down from 11,394th in 2019) and the 120th most popular American Chemist.

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Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Percy Lavon Julian ranks 593 out of 602. Before him are Esther M. Conwell, Richard Lerner, Ruth R. Benerito, Donald Howard Menzel, Sam Ruben, and Jacqueline Barton. After him are Omar M. Yaghi, Charles M. Lieber, Harry B. Gray, George M. Whitesides, Bonnie Bassler, and Darshan Ranganathan.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1899, Percy Lavon Julian ranks 320. Before him are Jimmie Davis, Sleepy John Estes, Carmel Myers, Glenn Strange, Stanley Skewes, and Randall Thompson. After him are Walter Crickmer, Eric Linklater, George K. Arthur, Takashi Kawanishi, Genevieve Tobin, and Allen Tate. Among people deceased in 1975, Percy Lavon Julian ranks 269. Before him are Hans Ziglarski, Marjorie Main, Larry Parks, Ian Hunter, Lionel Trilling, and Robert Strauss. After him are Bob Wills, and Padmaja Naidu.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Percy Lavon Julian ranks 13,492 out of 20,380. Before him are James Gleason (1882), Jill Abramson (1954), Robb Flynn (1967), Avril Haines (1969), Mike Inez (1966), and Smith Thompson (1768). After him are Erika Christensen (1982), Norman Powell (1993), Robert Frazer (1891), John Houbolt (1919), William P. Fessenden (1806), and Paul Caligiuri (1964).

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Among CHEMISTS In United States

Among chemists born in United States, Percy Lavon Julian ranks 120. Before him are Esther M. Conwell (1922), Richard Lerner (1938), Ruth R. Benerito (1916), Donald Howard Menzel (1901), Sam Ruben (1913), and Jacqueline Barton (1952). After him are Charles M. Lieber (1959), Harry B. Gray (1935), George M. Whitesides (1939), and Bonnie Bassler (1962).

American born Chemists

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