Alice Ball: The Forgotten Black Woman Chemist Who Developed the First Effective Leprosy Treatment
In 1915, at just 23 years old, Alice Augusta Ball, a brilliant Black chemist from Seattle, developed the first effective treatment for leprosy—then known as Hansen’s disease. Using her advanced knowledge of chemistry, she created an injectable, water-soluble form of chaulmoogra oil, which had previously been used with limited success. Her method, later known as the “Ball Method,” was a breakthrough that brought hope to thousands suffering from the disease worldwide.
Alice Ball was the first woman and the first African American to earn a degree from the University of Hawai‘i, and by 1915, she had become the university’s first female chemistry professor. Her work stood out not only for its brilliance but also for its compassion—she wanted to create something that would ease the suffering of others.
But in 1916, just one year after her groundbreaking discovery, Alice Ball died under mysterious circumstances. She was only 24 years old. Her untimely death cut short a life filled with promise and purpose. After her death, a fellow chemist, Arthur L. Dean, continued using her research—but claimed the work as his own. For decades, her contribution was erased, and the treatment was widely referred to as the “Dean Method.”
It wasn’t until the 1970s—nearly 80 years later—that historians and researchers brought Alice Ball’s name back into the spotlight. Dr. Harry T. Hollmann, who had originally encouraged her research, had quietly credited her in a paper in 1922, but it took decades for the scientific community and the public to fully recognize what had been taken from her.
Today, Alice Ball is finally being honored as the pioneer she was. In Hawai‘i—where she conducted her groundbreaking research and became the university’s first Black and first female chemistry professor—February 29 is celebrated as Alice Ball Day. Her legacy lives on in medical history, chemistry, and Black excellence. Her story is a powerful reminder of the brilliance that has so often been buried—and the importance of telling the truth, even a century later.
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