Alice Augusta Ball

Alice Augusta Ball (July 24, 1892 – December 31, 1916) was a Black American chemist whose groundbreaking work produced the first effective treatment for Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy. She was born in Seattle, Washington, to James Presley Ball Jr. and Laura Louise Ball. Her father was a photographer, journalist, and lawyer, while her mother left a photography career to raise the family. Ball excelled academically, graduating from Seattle High School with strong interests in the sciences.

She continued her education at the University of Washington, earning a pharmaceutical chemistry degree in 1912 and a bachelor's degree in pharmacy in 1914. During her studies, she co-authored a research paper on benzoylation reactions published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, making her one of the first Black American women to publish in a major scientific journal. Ball earned a scholarship to the College of Hawaiʻi (now University of Hawaiʻi), where she completed a master's degree in chemistry in 1915, becoming the first woman and first Black American to achieve the degree, and was subsequently appointed as the college's first female chemistry instructor.