Alice was born into a middle class African American family. After graduating from Seattle High school in 1910 she went to study at the University of Washington, achieving two bachelor’s degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and the science of pharmacy by 1914. Alice is known for her ‘Ball Method’, which was the most effective method against leprosy in the 20th century.
1892
1916
Seattle, Washington USA
African American
1910 –
Graduated from Seattle high school
1914 –
Achieved two bachelor’s degrees in pharmaceutical Chemistry and the science of Pharmacy
1915 –
She became the first African American women to receive a master’s degree from the College of Hawaii. In addition, she managed to isolate ethyl ester compounds in the oil of the chaulmoogra tree.
Alice was one of four children, and came from an established middle class family. During her childhood she moved from Seattle to Honolulu in hopes that the warm weather would help with her grandfather’s arthritis. However, soon after moving her grandfather died, forcing them to return to Seattle.
In 1915 she became the first woman, as well as the first African American person, to receive a Master’s degree from the College of Hawaii. From there she was able to work as a Chemistry Professor at the University of Hawaii. By 1918 the work that Alice initially conducted was used to develop a treatment to clear lesions caused by leprosy. The technique was used to relieve the symptoms of leprosy up until the 1940s, when antibiotics began to treat symptoms.
From an early age Alice was interested in chemical processes, influenced by her grandfather, James Ball, who was one of the first Black daguerreotypists in the US. This introduced her to the world of chemicals used in early photography, and Alice Ball went on to study chemistry.
https://www.newscientist.com/people/alice-ball/
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/ball-alice-augusta-1892-1916/
https://scientificwomen.net/women/ball-alice-121
