Career Milestones
Doctorate by alkaloid (1929-1931)
In 1929, Percy Julian won the opportunity to pursue a dream he had
held for more than a decade: a doctorate in chemistry. Funded by a
grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, he enrolled at the University
of Vienna and began work on alkaloids. His task was to isolate and
identify the active ingredient in the Austrian shrub
Corydalis cava, an alkaloid that scientists had found could
soothe pain and calm heart palpitations. This meant breaking the
molecule apart, atom by atom, then deducing its structure—a
daunting job at the time for even the most experienced chemists.
Julian succeeded, and in 1931 he became only the fourth
African-American in history to gain a Ph.D. in chemistry. He
returned to the States, ready to launch a career in chemistry.