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Elmer Samuel Imes (October 12, 1883 – September 11, 1941) was an internationally renowned American physicist who made important contributions in quantum, demonstrating for the first time that Quantum Theory could be applied to the rotational energy states of molecules, as well as the vibration and electronic levels. Imes’s work provided an early verification of Quantum Theory, and his spectroscopy instrumentation inventions, which include one of the earliest applications of high resolution infrared spectroscopy, led to development of the field of study of molecular structure through infrared spectroscopy.
He was the second African American to earn a Ph.D. in physics and the first in the 20th century. He was among the first known African-American scientists to make important contributions to modern physics; others’ prior work was unrecorded or uncredited. While working in industry, he gained four patents for instruments to be used for measuring magnetic and electric properties. As an academic, he developed and chaired the department of physics at Fisk University, serving from 1930 to 1941.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was the child of college-educated parents. His father’s family were people of color who had been free since before the American Revolution. His mother’s family, former slaves, had moved to Oberlin, Ohio, after the American Civil War. Both his parents graduated from Oberlin College.
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1914 – 1995
Initially planning to enter medical school, Henry McBay decided instead to study chemistry, earning a B.S. degree in 1934 from Wiley University, a master’s degree from Atlanta University in 1936, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1945. McBay was long a professor of chemistry at Morehouse College in Atlanta, serving from 1960 to 1981 as Chair of the department.
McBay’s research with acetyl peroxide?with which many other scientists refused to work because of its volatile nature?led to the synthesis of a hormone used in the treatment of prostate cancer. Also influential in the classroom, 45 of McBay’s students earned a Ph.D. in chemistry.
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His experiments with dogs and cats revealed that injections of vitamin C could cause tumors, epilepsy and some allergies.
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St. Elmo Brady was born on December 22, 1884 in Louisville, Kentucky. He received a Bachelor of Science from Fisk University in 1908 and a Master of Science in Chemistry in 1914 from University of Illinois. St. Elmo Brady earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1916, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Dr. Brady served as a Professor of Chemistry at Howard University and as Professor of Chemistry and Head of the Chemistry Department at Fisk University.
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Walter S. McAfee participated in an U.S. Army Program in the 1940’s created to determine whether a high frequency radio signal could penetrate the earth’s outer atmosphere. McAfee made the necessary calculations and on January 10, 1946 the team sent a radar pulse through a special 40-feet square antenna towards the moon. Two seconds later, they received a faint signal. While official news of this scientific breakthrough did not include McAfee’s name, Americans could not have walked on the moon had it not been for Walter McAfee and his calculations.
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1867 – 1923
Although he held a doctorate from the University of Chicago, zoologist Charles Henry Turner chose to teach at high schools so he could devote more time to the observation of insects. His research had lasting impact. Turner published several articles in scientific journals, including “Habits of Mound-Building Ants,” “Experiments on the Color Vision of the Honeybee,” “Hunting Habits of an American Sand Wasp,” and “Psychological Notes on the Gallery Spider.” In his research, Turner became the first person to prove that insects can hear and can distinguish pitch. In addition, he first discovered that cockroaches can learn by trial and error.
