"Julian -Herman-Lewis" (May 26,1891-March 6,1989)

An accomplished scientist,physician and educator,Dr.Lewis challenged 
racism in the American medical and scientific communities in his 
prominent 1942 text Biology of the Negro.Drawing on his background 
as both a doctor and as recipient of a PhD.in physiology,Julian demonstrated that claims of African American racial inferiority had 
no basis in biology.In addition to his seminal 1942 publication,he also 
enjoyed a long and successful career as a researcher and community 
activist.

Born in Shawneetown,Illinois. Julian came from a family of educators.
His daddy,John C.Lewis,who had been enslaved in rural Kentucky as a 
child,met his mama,Cordelia Scott,while both were attending Berea College.The couple became public school teachers and administrators 
in Cairo,Illinois with their children,Julian and his two younger sisters.

Julian attended the University of Illinois graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in 1911.In 1915,In 1915,he completed a Ph.D. in physiology and pathology at the University of Chicago,earning the institution's Ricketts
Prize for research in pathology.In addition,The Journal of Infectious 
Diseases published dissertations findings.In 1917,Julian finished medical school,earning a degree from Rush University.He is likely the 
first African-American to an MD and a Ph.D.

In 1918,Julian married Eva Overton,whose daddy,Anthony Overton,was 
the first African American to own a major conglomerate.The couple 
had three children,Gloria,Julian, and John.

Soon after receiving his MD,Julian began teaching at the University of 
Chicago,the school's first African-American faculty member.His career 
at the University would last three decades,with him eventually holding 
the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology.One 
of his primary areas of study was the evolution of human blood types,
with a particular emphasis on how the blood types of African-American 
had been shaped by interactions with other groups,including Europeans
Americans.Julian' insights were part of a broader  body of research aimed at challenging the very idea of race and its perceived permanence as a biological and /or social category.

In his best-known work,Biology of the Negro,Julian presented extensive
and detailed evidence debunking racist notions that linked supposed 
black inferiority to biology.The text also contained information on the 
prevalence and manifestation of various diseases in the African-American community including malaria and heart disease.Owing to his 
extensive research and publications in this area,Julian is sometimes 
referred to as the "Father of Anthropology," or the study of racial 
differences in the expression of disease.

Julian earned many honors and awards throughout his distinguished 
career.During his time as a student,he was inducted into Sigma xi,
Phi Beta Kappa, and Alpha Omega Alpha.In 1926,he received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship for study abroad 
in Switzerland.Life and Time magazine also featured his research.

In 1943,he accepted a position at Provident Hospital in Chicago,the 
first African-American owned and operated hospital in America.Scholars
of his life have concluded that he was forced to leave the University of 
Chicago because of both his research and his race.He later worked as a 
researcher for the U.S. military where he advocated increasing foreign 
aid to Ethiopia,and as Director of Pathology at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer,Indiana. A well-known mentor,Julian supported other 
African-Americans at the University of Chicago,including the internationally renowned dancer and choreographerKatherine Dunham.