Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Alice Ball
1892-1916
CHEMIST, MEDICAL RESEARCHER

Both Alice’s mother and grandfather were photographers, and as a child she developed an interest in the chemicals used in photography. She went to college in her hometown of
Seattle and earned not one but two degrees, in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy.
What an accomplishment for a young woman! At the time, most of the African American population in the city was employed in service professions-cleaning homes or making food, for example. But Alice defied expectations and her circumstances by seeking an education and a career in science.
In 1915, Alice became the first woman and the first African American to graduate with a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. While working on her thesis, she
developed what would become the leading treatment for leprosy, a serious, incurable disease. She found a way for oil from the seed of the chaulmoogra tree to be absorbed
in the bloodstream. This treatment became the primary method that would be used until the 1940s, but for a long time no one knew Alice was the inventor. Less than two years after this discovery, Alice died, and the director of her program took credit for her findings. Alice’s method became known as the Dean Method.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that historians unearthed the truth and worked to ensure that Alice got credit for her important discovery. On February 29, 2000, the University of Hawaii recognized her for her work and dedicated a plaque to her on the only chaulmoogra tree on the school’s campus. That day the lieutenant governor of Hawaii declared February 29 Alice Ball Day.