St. Elmo Brady
THE FIRST
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
TO RECEIVE
A PH.D. IN
CHEMISTRY!
~Background~
 Mr. Brady was influenced by Thomas W. Talley, who
led the way in the teach science.
 He received his Bachelor's Degree from Fisk
University in 1908 at the age of 24.
 Then he began teaching right away at Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama.
 He earned is Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University
of Illinois in 1916.
 Dr. Brady then served as a Professor of Chemistry at
Howard University


Professor of Chemistry at Fisk University.
Head of the Chemistry Department at Fisk University.
~Teaching~
 He taught general and organic chemistry to
hundreds of students.
 He published his research on the chemical
constituents of magnolia seeds and castor beans.
 Dr. Brady left an impressive teaching legacy at the
historically black colleges and universities where he
taught.
~Famous Quote~
 Many years later, he told his students that when he
went to graduate school,
“…they began with 20 whites and one other, and ended
in 1916 with six whites and one other.”