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Percy Julian
The eldest of six children, Percy Lavon Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1899. His father, James, who worked as a railway mail clerk, was the son of former slaves who went on to purchase their own small farm. According to Percy’s younger brother, Emerson, James Julian was a strict disciplinarian who had high expectations for his children. All six would later earn advanced degrees. One day, Emerson recalled, Percy rushed home from elementary school expecting to be congratulated for having received a score of 80 on an arithmetic exam. Instead of praising him, the elder Julian responded with disappointment, stating that anything less than 100 percent would never do. Julian took his father’s advice seriously and went on to graduate at the top of his class from the State Normal School for Negroes. He then entered Indiana’s DePauw University with the hope of studying organic chemistry. There he excelled...
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