Ball (1892 - 1916) was a brilliant chemist who, at 23, discovered the first treatment for Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease), known as the Ball Method.
According the Siberian Colins, “Two men did steal her work and didn’t give her any credit for her contributions — specifically Arthur Dean, who was president of the College of Hawaii, and Richard Wrenshall, a chemistry professor….They published a 1920 paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and a second 1922 paper” — in Public Health Reports — “with her research and failed to mention her or list her contributions,” Collins, holds a doctorate in chemistry, has written extensively about Black scientists, including Ball, and is the executive director of the Marburger STEM Center at Lawrence Technological University in Michigan.
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Laura Louise Ball (mother), James Presley Ball, Jr. (father)
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University of Washington, University of Hawaii
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