Growing up in the South at a time when discrimination against African Americans was at its peak, Percy Lavon Julian was fascinated by his father's writings about various plants. After going to college to study various sciences, he was denied several jobs because of his race. Through his persistence, he received his chance to do research in his field. After he created a medical breakthrough, he was hired to head a research laboratory, where he continued to create new advancements in medicine and chemistry. Julian's accomplishments made him one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century.