William Jacob Knox Jr. (January 5, 1904 - July 9, 1995) was an American chemist at Columbia University in New York City and one of the

African American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project African-American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project held a small number of positions among the several hundred scientists and technicians involved. Nonetheless, African-American men and women made important contributions to the ...

. Knox held an unprecedented position, serving as the only African American supervisor for the Manhattan Project. Knox is credited for nuclear research of gaseous diffusion techniques used for the separation of uranium isotopes. Knox's efforts in the development of uranium contributed to the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

, Japan, in 1945. Knox was highly educated and received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Knox then continued his postgraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. By 1935, the Knox family alone made up 7% of total African Americans to hold a Ph.D. After the war, Knox became a research assistant at Eastman Kodak Company. Knox is credited as being "the man to consult about coating problems".“William J. Knox, Jr., Ca. 1925.” MIT Black History, www.blackhistory.mit.edu/archive/william-j-knox-jr-ca-1925 As Knox ended his career in science, he became involved in activism and additional professional pursuits.

Early life and education

Knox was born on January 5, 1904, in

, to William Knox, a US postal worker, and Estella Briggs.Burrell, Shannon, and Laura Thompson. “Knox, William J. Jr.” Amistad Research Center, amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=404 William had a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

heritage as his grandfather, Elijah Knox, bought his freedom from slavery in 1846. One of the grandmothers of the Knox children was Harriet Jacobs, the writer of a popular slave narrative titled '' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl''. The Knox family had a strong “tradition of upward mobility through education”. William was the oldest of 5 children. Knox and his two younger brothers, Clinton Everett and Lawrence “Larry” Howland, all attended Harvard University (as well as other universities). All three earned doctoral degrees, William and Lawrence studying chemistry and Clinton studying history. William entered Harvard as an undergraduate in September 1921 and graduated in 1925.Lester, Paul. “Black History Month: Dr. William Jacob Knox Jr.” ENERGY.GOV, January 28, 2019, www.energy.gov/articles/black-history-month-5-facts-about-dr-william-jacob-knox-jr During his time at Harvard, William faced persecution and fought racist discrimination. He was accepted into Harvard University's undergraduate program in 1921. He was told to report to the freshman housing once he arrived for the semester. Upon arriving, Knox was immediately ousted for being black and was forced to give up his room in the whites-only dormitories. This confrontation with the housing at Harvard and many other instances such as realtors only offering an abandoned brothel may have influenced Knox heavily, as he would join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Rochester, New York, after his work in the Manhattan Project. William Knox confronted discrimination head-on by receiving further education. In 1929, Knox began to teach at Howard University, a private university in Washington, D.C. While instructing at Howard, Knox was introduced to his wife, Edna Lenora Jordan. Knox and Jordan were legally wed on September 1, 1931. Together they had one child, Sandra Knox.

Early professional work

After obtaining his master's degree in organic chemistry (1929) and Ph.D. in chemical engineering (1935) from MIT, Knox became a professor in the chemistry department at North Carolina A&T College. Knox taught general, analytical, organic, and physical chemistry from 1935 to 1942. In 1942, Knox took a promotion, leaving North Carolina A&T to become the head of the department of chemistry at Talladega College, a

historically black institution Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

in Talladega, Alabama.

Manhattan Project

In 1943, one year after taking the position of chair of chemistry at Talladega College, Knox joined a team of scientists at Columbia University, known as the Manhattan Project, in New York City (1942–1945). The Manhattan Project consisted of researching teams at Columbia University as well as developing sites for plutonium and uranium at Hanford, Washington, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

. William's brother Lawrence eventually joined him at Columbia University as a head research analyst for the Manhattan Project in New York City. The project would be successful, as the United States developed the first atomic weapons in history and brought the end of World War II with the dropping of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Knox's team researched and innovated the isolation of uranium isotopes using gaseous diffusion. The government compiled several influential and highly educated individuals in the atomic field at Columbia University. The university was awarded with the government's first federal contract to explore the use of atomic power for energy and weapons. Experiments at Columbia University indicated that "uranium might be used as an explosive that would liberate a million times as much energy per pound as any known explosive". Knox held a position unprecedented at the time, being the only African-American scientist to be a supervisor in the Manhattan Project. Like many scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, Knox and his team were unaware of how vital their research was. The complex process of breaking apart uranium isotopes utilizing uranium hexafluoride was crucial to the development of the atomic bombs used to end war with Japan in 1945. Uranium-235 and plutonium-239 made up the composite core of the atomic weapons. Knox was a section leader in the Corrosion Section before leaving Columbia University at the end of the war.“William Jacob Knox.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2019, www.atomicheritage.org/profile/william-jacob-knox

Post-war activities

Eastman Kodak Company

In 1945, Knox left his position on Columbia University's nuclear research team at the conclusion of World War II. Knox soon after became a research assistant at

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Company (Kodak) in Rochester, New York, from 1945 to 1970.Sluby, Patricia Carter. “The Inventive Spirit of African Americans” Patented Ingenuity. United Kingdom, Praeger, 2004. Knox became the second African American PhD chemist to be hired by the company. At the time, Kodak was leading the world in the development of photographic technology. Knox used his scientific skill set as a catalyst within the private industry sector. Twenty-one patents are recorded in Knox's name during his time with Kodak regarding the “application on surfactants in hephotogenic process”. Following his retirement and death, Kodak continues to renew nine of Knox's original patents, which are used to harden photographic emulsions and protect the coating of photographs.

Continued teaching

Following his departure from Kodak, William Knox returned to North Carolina A&T University, to teach chemistry, before permanently retiring in 1973.Absher, A. “William Jacob Knox Jr. (1904-1995), August 2, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/knox-william-jacob-jr-1904-1995/

Death

William Jacob Knox died on July 9, 1995, after a battle with prostate cancer. Knox died in Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 91.

Impact and legacy

Knox clearly cared for his community and fought for social justice, having faced discrimination throughout his life and being an active member of his local chapter of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. As Knox searched for housing near his daughter's schooling, he was unable. A coworker recognized his struggles and bought a lot under his name, which he then sold to Knox. This prompted Knox to get involved in fighting against housing injustices and for basic civil rights. Knox was a founding member of th
Urban League of Rochester
As a response to civil unrest in 1965, the League was established to “Enable African-Americans, Latinos, the poor and other disadvantaged to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power and civil rights”.“Urban League of Rochester.” Urban League of Rochester, New York > About Us, Urban League of Rochester, 2014, www.ulr.org/AboutUs.aspx The league, being a local chapter of the National Urban League, provides over 30 programs for individuals that are struggling in any aspect of life. The league also gives out scholarships to minority students, of which Knox was a donor for. Today, the Urban League of Rochester serves over 4,000 individuals. Knox, being a founding member of the Urban League of Rochester, showed that he not only fought against social injustice but also strove to better his community as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, William Jacob Jr. African-American chemists American chemists 1904 births 1995 deaths People from New Bedford, Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Harvard College alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Deaths from prostate cancer 20th-century African-American people