Senate Concurrent Resolution5--Honoring The Life Of Percy Lavon Julian, A Pioneer In The Fild Of Organic Chemistry And The First And Only African-Amer

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 5--HONORING THE LIFE OF PERCY LAVON JULIAN, A PIONEER IN THE FIELD OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND THE FIRST AND ONLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHEMIST TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES -- (Senate - January 31, 2007)

Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. BAYH) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

S. Con. Res. 5

Whereas Percy Julian was born on April 11, 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama, the son of a railway clerk and the first member of his family to attend college;

Whereas Percy Julian graduated from DePauw University in 1920 and received a M.S. degree from Harvard University in 1923 and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1931;

Whereas, in 1935, Dr. Julian became the first to discover a process to synthesize physostigmine, the drug used in the treatment of glaucoma;

Whereas Dr. Julian later pioneered a commercial process to synthesize cortisone from soy beans, enabling the widespread use of cortisone as an affordable treatment for arthritis;

Whereas Dr. Julian was the first African-American chemist elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 for his lifetime of scientific accomplishments, held over 130 patents at the time of his death in 1975, and dedicated much of his life to the advancement of African Americans in the sciences; and

Whereas Dr. Julian's life story has been documented in the Public Broadcasting Service NOVA film ``Forgotten Genius': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Congress honors the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry and the first and only African-American chemist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.

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