Alice Ball developed the first successful treatment for leprosy, which was used for over thirty years to save thousands from suffering. Her treatment was so effective that patients previously quarantined and expected to die in isolation, were allowed to return to their families. To create her treatment, she developed a technique to chemically modify chaulmoogra oil so it could be absorbed by the body through injection. This technique is known as the “Ball Method.”
- The creator of the “Ball Method” for treating leprosy
July 24, 1892[ng500]
in Seattle, Washington, USA
in Seattle, Washington, USA
December 31, 1916[ng500]
in Seattle, Washington, USA
in Seattle, Washington, USA
- 1914 Co-publishes Benzoylations in Ether Solution,” in Journal of the American Chemical Society[sop500][ss500][acs500]
- 1915 Completes her master’s thesis “The Chemical Constituents of Piper Methysticum,” or “The Chemical Constituents of the Active Principle of the Ava Root”[ss500][ss600]
- 1915 Becomes the first woman to earn a master’s degree in chemistry from the College of Hawaii (later named the University of Hawaii)[ss500]
- 1922 Dr. Harry Hollmann publishes an article giving Alice credit for her work and referring to the process she developed for treating Hansen’s disease (leprosy) as the “Ball Method”[uh500][ng500]
- 2000 University of Hawaii places a plaque dedicated to Alice Ball at the base of its chaulmoogra tree[uh500][ng500]
- 2000 Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono declaires Feburary 29th Alice Ball Day[uh500][ng500]
- 2007 posthumously awared the the Medal of Distinction from the University of Hawaii Board of Regents[uh500][ng500]
- 2017 the University of Hawaii announces the Alice Augusta Ball Scholarship, endowed by Paul Wermager[uh500][ng500]
1892 Born in Seattle, Washington[ng500]
1910 Graduates from Seattle High School[ss500]
1912 Receives a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from University of Washington[ss500]
1914 Receives a degree in pharmacy from University of Washington[ss500]
1915 Becomes the first woman to earn a master’s degree in chemistry from the College of Hawaii[ss500]
1916 Dies in Seattle, Washington[ng500]
1894
First Sino-Japanese War
1895
Spanish–American War 1898
1899
Philippine–American War
1902
1914
World War I
Books
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky
New York Times best seller highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with creative illustrations. Alice Ball is featured on page 45 of the hard cover edition of this book (ISBN: 978-1-60774-977-6).
- ⬆ ng500 Brewster, Carisa D. “How the Woman Who Found a Leprosy Treatment Was Almost Lost to History.” National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/alice-ball-leprosy-hansens-disease-hawaii-womens-history-science. Accessed 2 October 2019.
- ⬆ uh500 “A Woman Who Changed the World.” University of Hawaii Foundation https://www.uhfoundation.org/impact/students/woman-who-changed-world. Accessed 2 October 2019.
- ⬆ ss500 “Ball, Alice Augusta.” ScholarSpace, University of Hawai’i at Manoa https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/1837. Accessed 2 October 2019.
- ⬆ ss600 Ball, Alice. “The Chemical Constituents of Piper Methysticum; The Chemical Constituents of the Active Principle of the Ava Root.” ScholarSpace, University of Hawai’i at Manoa https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/1844. Accessed 2 October 2019.
- ⬆ sop500 Ball, Alice. “UWSOP alumni legend Alice Ball, Class of 1914, solved leprosy therapy riddle.” School of Pharmacy, Unversity of Washington https://sop.washington.edu/uwsop-alumni-legend-alice-ball-class-of-1914-solved-leprosy-riddle/. Accessed 4 October 2019.
- ⬆ acs500 Dehn, William M., and Alice Ball. “BENZOYLATIONS IN ETHER SOLUTION.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, ACS Publications https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja02187a015. Accessed 4 October 2019.
Rachel Ignotofsky for including Alice in her book “Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World,” which inspired us to include her in Impact Record
