St. Elmo Brady
Saint Elmo Brady 1884 - 1966
Saint Elmo Brady was the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States.
Brady earned his bachelor’s from Fisk University in 1908. He subsequently began teaching at the Tuskegee Institute (modern day Tuskegee University) in Alabama. Brady’s work in the field earned him a scholarship to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Brady earned his Master of Science with a focus in Chemistry in 1914, and made history two years later when he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry. Brady turned heads with his doctoral thesis “The Divalent Oxygen Atom.”
Between 1914 and 1915, Brady published three scholarly science articles focused on his work in the field.
Brady was not only a renowned chemist, his commitment to education inspired generations of Black scientists to enter the field. In addition to teaching at his alma mater of Fisk University, Brady taught at Tougaloo College and served as department chair at Tuskegee and Howard University.
The world’s largest scientific society, the American Chemical Society, honored Brady with a National Historic Chemical Landmark on February 5, 2019. This prestigious award ‘recognizes seminal events in the history of chemistry and to increase awareness of the contributions of chemistry to society.’
Saint Elmo Brady’s legacy is that of a renowned chemist, but most importantly, an education visionary.
