Alice Ball was born in 1892 in Seattle, Washington. She studied chemistry at the University of Hawaii, where she became the first woman and first black American to obtain both her Master's degree as well as a professorship at the university's chemistry department.
While there, Ball studied the properties of chaulmoogra oil. It was a promising treatment for leprosy at the time, but difficult to use due to its chemical makeup. Ball developed an injectable form that isolated the active ingredients; rendering a more effective treatment.
Unfortunately, she died from an unknown illness before she could publish her findings. She was only 24.
Another scientist took credit for her work and it would take close to 90 years for the University of Hawaii to officially acknowledge her scientific contributions and declare February 29 as "Alice Ball Day."
