What made Percy Julian famous?

What made Percy Julian famous?

Julian (1899-1975) first synthesized the drug physostigmine, previously only available from its natural source, the Calabar bean. His pioneering research led to the process that made physostigmine readily available for the treatment of glaucoma.

Did Percy Julian invent birth control?

Julian was a major pioneer of the chemical synthesis of medical drugs from plants, and he created steroids, cortisone and birth control pills that are all still being used to this very day for a variety of essential purposes.

Who invented cortisone?

Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) in 1990, chemist Percy Lavon Julian is considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century for discovering a way to synthesize cortisone from soybeans for use in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Who invented steroids?

A steroid chemist and an entrepreneur, Percy Julian ingeniously figured out how to synthesize important medicinal compounds from abundant plant sources, making them more affordable to mass-produce. In the 1930s chemists recognized the structural similarity of a large group of natural substances—the steroids.