Alice Ball

Chemist who developed the first effective leprosy treatment at age 23

Alice Augusta Ball (1892–1916) achieved what eluded scientists for centuries—creating an injectable cure for leprosy through her revolutionary chaulmoogra oil processing method. At just 23 years old, this African American chemist solved the problem of making the viscous oil absorbable by the human body, as documented in her Journal of the American Chemical Society publications.

Her technique, later called the 'Ball Method,' replaced painful, ineffective treatments used since 600 BCE. Tragically, Ball died before seeing her work's full impact—University of Hawaii president Arthur Dean stole credit until 1977, when scholars rediscovered her contributions. During WWII, her method treated 8,000 patients annually at Kalihi Hospital.

A University of Washington graduate and the institution's first Black chemistry professor, Ball also researched anesthetic properties of kava root. In 2022, Hawai'i declared February 28 'Alice Ball Day.' The National Park Service now recognizes her laboratory site, while the Royal Society of Chemistry awards an annual Alice Ball Prize for groundbreaking chemistry.