Roger Arliner Young facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roger Arliner Young
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| Born | 1899 Clifton Forge, Virginia, US
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| Died | November 9, 1964 (aged 64–65) New Orleans, Louisiana
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Howard University University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | zoology, biology, marine biology |
| Institutions | marine biological laboratory |
Roger Arliner Young was an amazing American scientist. She studied animals (zoology), living things (biology), and ocean life (marine biology). Born in 1899, she lived until 1964. She made history as the first African American woman to earn a special advanced degree, called a doctorate, in zoology.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Roger was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, in 1899. Her family soon moved to Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. They didn't have much money, and Roger spent a lot of time helping care for her mother, who was ill.
In 1916, Roger started studying music at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. She wrote in her yearbook, "Not failure, but low aim is a crime." She didn't take her first science class until 1921. Even though her grades were not great at first, some of her teachers saw how smart she was. One of these teachers was Ernest Everett Just, a famous Black biologist and the head of the Zoology department at Howard.
Roger earned her first degree, a bachelor's degree, in 1923. Mr. Just tried to help her get money for more schooling, but it was hard. In 1924, Roger started working on her master's degree at the University of Chicago. She finished this degree in 1926.
Working with Dr. Just
Roger worked with Dr. Ernest Everett Just for many years. She taught as an Assistant Professor at Howard University from 1923 to 1935. During the summers, they focused on research. Roger helped Dr. Just with his research from 1927 to 1930. Even though her help was mentioned when he applied for money for his studies, her name was not usually listed as a co-author on the papers they published.
While studying at the University of Chicago, Roger was asked to join Sigma Xi, a special group for scientific researchers. This was a big honor for someone still working on their master's degree. In 1924, her first science paper was published in the journal Science. It was called "On the excretory apparatus in Paramecium." This made her the first African American woman to do research and publish a scientific paper in this field.
Scientific Career and Challenges
Dr. Ernest Everett Just invited Roger to work with him during the summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This started in 1927.
At the lab, they studied how marine organisms get fertilized. They also looked at how living cells take in or lose water. In 1929, Roger became the temporary head of the zoology department at Howard University while Dr. Just was in Europe. During experiments at Howard, Roger's eyes were permanently hurt by the ultraviolet light they used.
Pursuing a Doctorate Degree
In the fall of 1929, Roger went back to the University of Chicago to start her doctorate degree. She worked with Frank Rattray Lillie, who had also been a mentor to Dr. Just. However, in 1930, Roger did not pass her important qualifying exams. For a while, she stepped away from the science world. She later returned to teach at Howard University and continued working with Dr. Just at the Marine Biological Laboratory in the summers.
Around 1935, a disagreement happened between Dr. Just and Roger. In 1936, she was fired from Howard University. She said, "The situation here is so cruel and cowardly that every spark of sentiment that I have held for Howard is cold." She used this difficult time as a chance to try again for her Ph.D. In June 1937, she went to the University of Pennsylvania. She studied with Lewis Victor Heilbrunn, another scientist she met at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Roger finally earned her doctorate degree in 1940.
Later Teaching and Research
After getting her doctorate, Roger became an assistant professor at the North Carolina College for Negroes and Shaw University from 1940 to 1947. She also taught in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana until 1959.
Roger Young contributed a lot to science. She studied how radiation affected sea urchin eggs. She also researched the structures that control salt levels in paramecium, and how living cells gain or lose water.
Personal Life and Legacy
Roger Young never married. Besides the eye damage from her work, she faced financial difficulties. She was the only one supporting her ill mother, Lillie Young, until her mother passed away. After leaving Howard, it was hard for an African American woman scientist to find research jobs. Most of her options were teaching positions without access to research labs. In the 1950s, she faced some health challenges. Roger Arliner Young passed away on November 9, 1964, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Honors and Recognition
In 2005, Roger Arliner Young was honored in a special resolution by the United States Congress. She was recognized along with four other African American women who achieved great things in science despite many challenges. The other women honored were:
- Ruth Ella Moore, who was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in natural science from Ohio State University in 1933.
- Euphemia Lofton Haynes, who was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Catholic University of America in 1943.
- Shirley Ann Jackson, who was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973.
- Mae Jemison, a doctor and the first African American woman in space.
A group of environmental and conservation organizations created the Roger Arliner Young (RAY) Marine Conservation Diversity Fellowship. This fellowship honors Roger Young by supporting young African Americans who want to work in marine environmental conservation.
See also
In Spanish: Roger Arliner Young para niños
