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1. George Washington Carver was born in 1864 and was an agriculture chemist, botanist and inventor. His research into the use of alternative crops such as sweet potatoes and peanuts was ground breaking He wanted poor farmers to be able to grow alternative crops to improve their quality of life, the most popular one of his bulletins was the 105 recipes that used peanuts. Also the 100 products that you could in fact make from peanuts like paints, cosmetics, gasoline and dyes.
2. Marie Daly was born in 1921 she was fascinated with books and was inspired by her father's love of science. She was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry. Her earlier work included the study of the effects of cholesterol on the heart, and the effects of sugar on the arteries. Later she went onto study how proteins are produced in the cells.
3. Percy Julian was born in 1899 and was a research chemist and a pioneer in the synthesis of getting medicinal drugs from plants. He was also the pioneer in the chemical synthesis of the human hormones from plants. His work went onto lay the foundations for the production of birth control pills. His work and research made these drugs and steroids more affordable to large pharmaceutical companies.
4. Garret Morgan was born in 1877 and invented several things including a respiratory protective hood, a type of traffic signal and a hair straightening product. He is most renowned for a heroic rescue in which he used his own invented hood to save workers which were trapped in a tunnel. He has received several awards for his great work which included a citation from the United States government for the traffic signals.
5. Norbert Rillieux was born in 1806 and is most noted for his amazing inventions one of which being the multiple effect evaporator. This fantastic machine enabled water to be evaporated in an energy efficient way. This was an important development in the way sugar was refined as it had been slow, expensive and inefficient in the past. Over 13 sugar refineries to use his product and they went on to produce far more sugar enabling larger profits.
6. Mae Jemison was born in 1956 and is an amazing physician and astronaut; she became the first African American woman to travel into space in 1992. She has a degree in chemical engineering and a degree in medicine and remains very active in science and technology. She was a general practitioner for a time before retiring; she continues to lecture at colleges and medical schools.
7.Patricia Bath was born in 1942 and devoted her life to finding treatments for blindness which was suffered in poorer areas. In 1988 she was the first African American woman doctor to receive a patent solely for medical purposes. It was for apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses, it was a version of an amazing device designed to help remove cataracts with a fiber optic laser. She was also the first female ophthalmologist at UCLA's eye institute and the first female African American surgeon at UCLA.
8. Samuel Massie was born in 1919 and went on to become the first black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. This made him the first black person to teach full-time at any US military academy. He received a master's degree in chemistry and a doctorate in organic chemistry. Samuel Massie was a professor in chemistry and became the chairman of the department of chemistry.
9. Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731 and was an astronomer and mathematician. He invented the first ever wooden clock which continued to operate until the time of his death. He worked as a scientific assistant for many years before returning to his passion of astronomy and the solar system.
10. Thomas Jennings was born in 1791 and was the first African American to be granted a patent; he received it for his dry cleaning process. Once he had discovered this amazing invention he could go on to improve his business and make a huge success from it. He went on to be a respected and professional person proving what can be achieved if hard work and dedication are applied.
The above famous black scientists had a positive impact on society. What is very inspirational is that they achieved a lot in a racist society that looked down on them and still does. Regardless of the obstacles they faced and still face they overcame and achieved greatness.
