Historical marker unveiled to honor Dr. Percy Julian

websitebuilder • April 22, 2025

A legacy that impacted millions is now being preserved at the very place where it all began.

By Simon Schuessler

Published: Apr. 13, 2025 at 10:51 AM CDT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A legacy that impacted millions is now being preserved at the very place where it all began.

A historical marker honoring Dr. Percy Julian was unveiled in his hometown of Montgomery on Saturday morning. According to the Chairman of the Montgomery Historic Preservation Commission Richard Bailey, there was a similar marker in the past, but he doesn’t know what happened to it.

The location of the marker near the intersection of South Holt Street and Bullock Street is significant, because the lot behind it is where Dr. Percy Julian once lived.

Born in the segregated South, Dr. Julian didn’t have an easy road to the education he needed.

“Percy Julian peeped through the windows of a white high school and he saw the lab, and he saw all of this equipment and from that day on he said to himself, ‘I want to become a chemist,‘” Bailey said.

Despite many setbacks, he defied the odds and became a master chemist. Among his many accomplishments, he synthesized and mass-produced drugs to treat conditions like arthritis and glaucoma.

“Many people speak frequently about the cost of medication, not only did Percy Julian come up with a formula for the treatment of persons who suffered from those items, but he came up with a way of mass producing the medication,” Bailey emphasized.

Attendees like Montgomery County Board of Education member Claudia Mitchell got to speak with Dr. Julian’s daughter on the phone.

His accomplishments encouraged Mitchell to pursue a science degree at a time where it was unusual for women to be in the field.

“Being a student, a girl, in the 60s and 70s in high school, we didn’t take science, but I loved science,” Mitchell explained. My teachers encouraged me, and she had a picture of Percy Julian in our classroom, and she told us the story of this young man from Montgomery, Alabama who had achieved great things and she told us that if he can do it, you can do it too, and I truly believed her.”

April 11 would have been Dr. Julian’s 126th birthday.

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!

Article: https://www.wsfa.com

< Older Post

Marker Tells Stories of Slave Trade, Freedom

By websitebuilder • December 10, 2024

History converges at square

Holt Street Baptist Church

By websitebuilder • November 7, 2018

Rosa L. Parks and E.D. Nixon, former president of the Alabama NAACP, arrive at court March 19, 1956, in Montgomery. Parks and Nixon lived in the Cleveland Avenue neighborhood. Cleveland Avenue was renamed Rosa L. Parks Avenue. They Too Call Alabama Home: African-American Profiles, 1800-1999 Holt Street Baptist Church, a couple of blocks to the west of Rosa L. Parks Avenue, features a historic marker that explains the important role the church played in the Montgomery bus boycott and the struggle for civil rights. An estimated 5,000 Montgomery residents met here on Dec. 5, 1955, to launch the Montgomery bus boycott. The church, which has a historic marker from the state, is always open for curbside viewing, but tours of the church are available by appointment.

Holt Street Baptist Church

By Richard • November 7, 2018

Cleveland Court Apartments

By Richard • November 7, 2018

Cleveland Court Apartments features a historic marker, which describes Rosa L. Parks’ arrest and subsequent journey to becoming the “mother of the civil rights movement.” The building that houses apartments 620-638 of this Montgomery Housing Authority apartment complex was Rosa… The post Cleveland Court Apartments appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.

Former Slave Link to Pratt Subject of History Program

By Richard • November 7, 2018

He was Alabama’s master bridge builder, but former slave Horace King may have combined his talent with Prattville industrialist Daniel Pratt on other projects. By Jim Plott Montgomery Advertiser King, noted for his architecture in Alabama and west Georgia,… The post Former Slave Link to Pratt Subject of History Program appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.

Neighborhood at a Crossroads

By websitebuilder • October 24, 2004

Historic Area looks to Return to Past Glory

Neighborhood at a Crossroads

By Richard • October 24, 2004

Historic Area looks to Return to Past Glory By Robin Bradley Litchfield, Montgomery Advertiser Drive through the neighborhood along Rosa L. Parks Avenue, and you’ll catch a glimpse every now and then of what was one of Montgomery’s most prominent… The post Neighborhood at a Crossroads appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.

Three Legends Who Called Alabama Home

By Richard • March 1, 2002

They Too Call Alabama Home: African-American Profiles, 1800-1999 When ASU alumnus Dr. Richard Bailey (1971,1972) was asked to recount the stories of influential African-American Alabamians during Black History Month, he was able to draw from a ready resource – his… The post Three Legends Who Called Alabama Home appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.

History of Centennial Hill comes to life at Sunday lecture

By Richard • February 18, 2002

The history and people of one of Montgomery’s oldest neighborhoods were the focus of a special Sunday lecture. Richard Bailey presented the lecture “An Afternoon in Centennial Hill” Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd on South Jackson Street.… The post History of Centennial Hill comes to life at Sunday lecture appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.

Marker Tells Stories of Slave Trade, Freedom

By Richard • January 2, 2002

History converges at square By Ken L. Spear, Montgomery Advertiser A historic marker unveiled in the town square on Dexter Tuesday took a crowd of Montgomerians back to more than a century ago. The planting of the new marker at Court Square… The post Marker Tells Stories of Slave Trade, Freedom appeared first on Alabama Historical Tours.