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This post honours the memory of Alice Ball, a pioneering Black female scientist whose work saved thousands but was stolen for 60 years. Shared solely for historical education and to reflect on systemic injustice in science.
The Forgotten Genius Who Cured Leprosy at 23 – And Was Erased for 60 Years
Alice Ball’s Stolen Legacy
In 1915, a 23-year-old Black woman walked into a chemistry lab at the University of Hawaiʻi and solved a problem that had baffled scientists for centuries. Her name was Alice Augusta Ball, and her breakthrough saved thousands from the isolation of leprosy (now Hansen’s disease). But a white man took credit for her work, and the world forgot her name for 60 years.
Born on 24 July 1892 in Seattle to a middle-class family (her grandfather was photographer James Ball Sr.), Alice showed early talent. She earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy (1912–1914) – rare for any woman, let alone a Black one in segregated America. At 23, she became the first woman and first African American to earn a master’s in chemistry from UH, and the school’s first Black instructor.
Dr. Harry Hollmann, treating leprosy patients at Kalihi Hospital, approached her with an impossible challenge: make chaulmoogra oil – the only known treatment – injectable without pain. Thick and bitter, it caused abscesses when injected or nausea when swallowed, making it nearly useless.
Alice succeeded where others failed. She isolated the active ethyl esters from the oil’s fatty acids, creating a water-soluble form that could be injected safely and absorbed effectively. For the first time, leprosy symptoms regressed without agony. Patients left isolation colonies; families reunited.
Arthur Dean
But tragedy struck. On 31 December 1916, Alice died at 24 – cause unclear, possibly lab chemical exposure (chlorine gas accident during a demonstration) or tuberculosis (as her altered death certificate claimed). She never published her method; it existed only in notes.
Enter Arthur Dean, UH chemistry chair. He refined her technique slightly, renamed it the “Dean Method,” and claimed it as his own. For decades it treated leprosy worldwide – in the Pacific, Philippines, Asia, Africa – saving countless lives. Dean never mentioned Alice.
The truth emerged in 1977 when historian Kathryn Takara rediscovered Alice’s thesis and lab notes. In 1922, Hollmann had credited her in a paper, calling it the “Ball Method” – but Dean’s version dominated.
Restoration came slowly:
2007: UH posthumously awarded her the Medal of Distinction.
2016: Hawaiʻi Magazine named her one of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.
2019: A new park in Seattle bears her name; UH proposed renaming Dean Hall to Ball Hall.
2020: Short film The Ball Method premiered; a satellite “Alice” (NuSat 9) was launched in her honour.
2022: Hawaii Governor proclaimed 28 February “Alice Augusta Ball Day.”
2024: A statue unveiled at UH Mānoa library.
Alice Ball proved genius knows no bounds of race or gender. At 23, she changed medical history. Stolen for 60 years, her legacy now inspires young scientists – especially women of colour.
We remember Alice Ball today not to dwell on injustice, but to honour a 23-year-old genius who saved thousands from isolation; to recognise that systemic erasure stole her credit for 60 years; and to ensure her story inspires future scientists to claim their place in history.
She cured a centuries-old plague at 23. A man stole her work. But truth, like her method, could not be buried forever.
Official & reputable sources
University of Hawaiʻi Archives – Alice Ball thesis and lab notes (1915)
Hollmann, Harry T. – Journal of the American Medical Association article crediting Ball (1922)
Wermager, Paul – Alice Ball and the Fight Against Leprosy (2007)
Takara, Kathryn – research on UH Black pioneers (1977–present)
Hawaiʻi State Proclamation – Alice Ball Day (2022)