Lawrence H Knox

Lawrence Howland Knox (September 30, 1906 – 1966) was among the first African Americans to receive a PhD in chemistry, following his brother William Jacob Knox (1904–1995). He worked with Paul D. Bartlett on an experiment for testing organic mechanisms in chemistry which involved the use of the molecule bicyclo(2.2.1)heptane, a type of bicyclic molecule. Knox was the grandson of a slave and it is speculated by some that he died an early death due to the social difficulties of being an African American and a descendant of a slave.