Alice Ball
(1892 – 1916)
Developed the first treatment for leprosy
First Black person and the first woman to earn a master’s degree in chemistry at the College of Hawaii
Dr. Ball became the first Black person and the first woman to earn a master’s degree in chemistry at the College of Hawaii. In her short life, she developed the first effective treatment for leprosy, a bacterial infection that has affected humans for thousands of years.
While working towards her degree in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Washington, she had her work published in prestigious science journals, which was rare for women, especially Black women. After graduating, she moved to Hawaii to get her master’s degree. While there, she studied the oil from a chaulmoogra tree, which was used as a topical treatment for leprosy with mixed results. In 1915, Ball figured out how to isolate the fatty acid components of the oil and make it injectable so it would dissolve in the bloodstream. This became the first effective method to alleviate leprosy symptoms, changing the lives of thousands of leprosy patients around the world, who until then had to live in isolation to avoid spreading the disease.
However, she was unable to publish her results herself, as she died in 1916 at the age of 24. Some accounts suggest she died after inhaling chlorine gas following a lab accident. A year later, the president of the University of Hawaii claimed her discovery for himself and published the findings without giving her credit. It wasn’t until 1922 when her colleagues published her findings that she was given the recognition she deserved, although the University of Hawaii didn’t formally recognize her work for nearly 90 years. Even though her research career was tragically cut short, the “Ball method” was used for decades until new treatments were discovered.
Honors of Recognition of her contributions to science
Ball died on December 31, 1916, at age 24. She had become ill during her research and returned to Seattle for treatment a few months before her death. A 1917 Pacific Commercial Advertiser article suggested that the cause may have been chlorine poisoning due to exposure while teaching in the laboratory. It was reported that she was giving a demonstration on how to properly use a gas mask in preparation for an attack, as World War I was raging in Europe. But the cause of her death is unknown, as her original death certificate was altered to cite tuberculosis.
The first recognition of Ball’s work came six years after her death when, in 1922, she was briefly mentioned in a medical journal, with her method being called the “Ball Method”. After the work of many historians at the University of Hawaiʻi including Kathryn Takara and Stanley Ali, the University of Hawaiʻi finally honored Ball in 2000 by dedicating a plaque to her on the school’s only chaulmoogra tree behind Bachman Hall. On the same day, the former Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, declared February 29 “Alice Ball Day,” which is now celebrated every four years. In 2007, the University Board of Regents honored Ball with a Medal of Distinction, the school’s highest honor. In March 2016, Hawaiʻi Magazine placed Ball on its list of the most influential women in Hawaiian history. In 2018, a new park in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood was named after Ball. In 2019, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine added her name to the frieze atop its main building, along with Florence Nightingale and Marie Curie, in recognition of their contributions to science and global health research. In February 2020, a short film, The Ball Method will premiere at the Pan African Film Festival. The University of Hawaiʻi students have asked whether more should be done to resolve the wrongful actions of former President Dean, including proposals to rename Dean Hall after Ball instead. On November 6, 2020, a satellite named after her (ÑuSat 9 or “Alice”, COSPAR 2020-079A) was launched into space.
On February 28, 2022, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed a proclamation declaring February 28 “Alice Augusta Ball Day” in Hawaii at a special recognition ceremony on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus. The ceremony took place next to Bachman Hall in the shade of a Chaulmoogra tree planted in Ball’s honor. A bronze plaque is displayed there in her memory. More than 100 people attended, including First Lady Dawn Ige and UH President David Lassner.