Chemist and educator St. Elmo Brady was born #OTD in 1884. He was the first Black American to receive a PhD in Chemistry (University of Illinois, 1916).
Brady worked on organic acids, IR spectroscopy, and halogen compounds, and significantly expanded chem programs at four HBCUs.
After completing his PhD, Brady returned to Tuskegee University where he taught from 1916-1920.
In 1917 he wrote a series of monographs called "Household Chemistry for Girls," intended to introduce the subject to students with no scientific training.
Brady was committed to bringing chemistry to a wide audience and he supported women's interest in the subject.
But this also underscores how limited opportunities were for Black women. Marie Maynard Daly didn’t receive her PhD in chemistry until 1947 — 31 years after Brady.
Brady taught at Tuskegee from 1916-1920 before moving to Howard University, which offered better facilities. In 1927 he moved to Fisk University and worked there until retiring in 1952. Even after “retiring” he continued to teach at Tougaloo College.
An important part of Brady’s legacy is his work establishing or expanding undergrad and grad chem programs at four Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Tuskegee, Howard, Fisk, and Tougaloo.
Dr. Brady in his lab at Fisk University, sometime around 1950.
Image: Fisk University / University of Illinois Archives
Robert McNees