Degree(s): Chemistry

_

Undergraduate Institution: Fisk University (HBCU)

Graduate Institution: University of Illinois

_ 

Photo Credit: University of Illinois Department of Chemistry

_

Dr. Saint Elmo Brady was the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. Upon graduation from Fisk University in 1908, he began teaching at Tuskegee Institute and was mentored by both Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Brady famously noted, “they began with 20 whites and one other and ended, in 1916 with six whites and one other.” Dr. Brady is known for developing undergraduate chemistry curricula and fundraising for HBCUs, including serving as a chemistry professor at Howard University, Fisk University, and Tougaloo College.

_