Throughout our lives, many people made the world change and improvements to help us in our lives. One of these people that made world-changing discoveries is Lloyd Noel Ferguson.
Early Life
Lloyd N. Ferguson was born in February 1918, in Oakland, California. He was born to a Businessman as a father and a housemaid as a mother. Ferguson enjoyed science and doing experiments like most kids at his young age. Ferguson Built a shed to do fun and cool science experiments away from the house so if something did happen it would not destroy the house. Ferguson also skipped two grades even though he had a sickness that kept him out of school for a whole year. This could show that he was very educated considering that he graduated from Oakland Tech High School at the age of sixteen.
Career Searching
After finishing High School he wanted to continue his path of education although he did not have any money to attend. He worked in two jobs, Works Progress Administration and Southern Pacific Railway Company. He did this to save up enough money to attend college. After he had the money to attend college he was the first one in his family to go in 1936. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree and finished with Honors in chemistry in California Berkeley in the year 1940. He counted on to get his Ph.D. degree in chemistry in the same university in 1943. He was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Later on, he was offered a job to join the faculty as a professor in Chemistry at Howard University, Washington D.C. in 1955. After three years of hard work, he became head of the chemistry department in 1958.
Life Choices and Accomplishments
Fergurson was chosen to be the prestigious American Chemical Society in 1952. In 1965, Fergurson left the Faculty of Howard University and joined California state chaired the department of chemistry from 1968 to 1971. Throughout his career, he had many interests in chemistry and wanted to improve his academic career. He pursued the study of the chemistry of carbon-based molecules, the organic nature of taste sensations, and cancer-causing agents. Some of these problems in modern-day society where scientists are solving to cure diseases that happen to everyone all around the world. Considering that Ferguson was an outstanding professor he was awarded an award for being the most outstanding professor at CSU(California State University). Throughout his life, he received many awards. He received a Medallion for being a distinguished American from the American Foundation for Negro affairs in 1976. Ferguson was also the only one to receive an ACS(American Chemical Society) in chemical education in 1978.
The Ending
Lloyd N. Ferguson wrote over fifty article journals based on chemistry and published seven different textbooks to inform young adults to be engorged to enter the field of Science. He is also the Co-Founder of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. He retired from CSU in 1986 as a Professor. He even had a Scholarship program named after him. He married Charlotte Welch and have raised three children, Lloyd Jr., Stephen, and Lisa. Sadly Lloyd Ferguson passed away on November 30 of 2011 and is still remembered.
In Conclusion Ferguson really did make a difference in the world. He encourages young people like us to consider joining the field of Science and Chemistry. So what do you say, are you going to Join the field of Science?
