Ernest Everett Just
Ernest Everett Just was born in Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating magna cum laude from Dartmouth College — the sole honors graduate of his class — he joined the faculty at Howard University and began summer research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Just's research on the cell surface and egg fertilization was revolutionary. He published over 70 scientific papers and two major books, making discoveries about cell membrane function that wouldn't be fully appreciated for decades. He was the first recipient of the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in science.
But American racism meant that despite his brilliance, Just could never obtain a position at a major research university. He was confined to Howard, which lacked adequate laboratory facilities, and could only conduct serious research during summer months at Woods Hole. Frustrated, he moved to Europe in the 1930s to work freely. He died of pancreatic cancer at 58, his genius never fully recognized in his own country.
"We feel the beauty of nature because we are part of nature and because we know that however much in our separate domains we abstract from the unity of Nature, this unity remains."— Ernest Everett Just
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