Emerging in the 19th century with the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea by Friedrich Wöhler, synthetic organic chemistry is one of the most important scientific developments in the history of science. It allowed chemists to understand matter at the molecular level and convert it from one form to another.
Synthesis was the highest calling for a chemist in the 1930s. A successful synthesis could bring great medical benefits, by making a scarce natural product more widely available. Just as important, it proved beyond a doubt that the chemist understood how the molecule was put together.
In the mid 1930s there was a race to discover a process to synthesize physostigmine, an alkaloid found in the calabar bean and used to treat glaucoma. The competitors were Sir Robert Robinson, Fellow of Magdalen College, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, premier organic chemist of his time — and an obscure American chemist named Percy Lavon Julian.
Robinson had already published nine papers on a step by step process to synthesize physostigmine, but Julian was convinced there was a simpler way and set out to beat him.
In 1934, Julian and his research partner Josef Pikl published their first paper, attacking Sir Robert in the opening paragraph using words such as "failure", "embarrassing", and "low yield".
It was on. Julian and Pikl worked round the clock to develop a synthesis that was one step away from physostigmine. Since the last step was already known, this would count as victory. Before they could publish, however, Robinson struck back with his own synthesis. It was over. Julian's career was over. He was not the first, just a "me,too", a footnote in the history of science.
Then (and as a chemistry teacher this is the part that makes the thrill go up my leg) Julian noticed a discrepancy. In his own words
Suddenly, my eye caught something. "Look, Josef, he's made a big blunder." Our crystals melted at about 39° Celsius, body temperature. Indeed, we were able to melt them by closing them in our armpits. His compound melted not at body temperature, but almost 50 degrees higher. "He hasn't got it!" I cried.
Every compound has unique physical properties such as melting point. Thus if Julian’s compound had a different melting point from Robinson’s then they could not be the same substance and one of the two chemists was in error.
Additional experiments showed conclusively, that Julian’s compound was indeed synthetic physostigmine and Robinson’s was not. He won.
There is much that could be said about the life and accomplishments of Percy Julian, the struggles he had to overcome, the many contributions he made to synthetic steroid pharmacology, but to me the story of how this young African American chemist, who had trouble even getting hired and almost insurmountable hurdles to overcome in order to do research, took on the dean of organic chemistry and won is the height of awesomeness.
Watch the outstanding PBS NOVA film “Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius”, which is no longer available for streaming, but can probably be checked out from your local public library or read/watch one of the online biographical resources to learn more about his life and work.
Biography — DePauw University
Percy Lavon Julian: Revolutionizing Medical Treatment Through Chemical Synthesis