Roger Arliner Young (1899–1964) broke barriers not with fanfare—but with brilliance, perseverance, and scientific discovery.


In 1940, she became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology, blazing a trail in a field where few women—and fewer women of color—were welcomed.


Born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and raised in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, Young earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University (1923) and her master’s from the University of Chicago (1926).


In 1924, her groundbreaking research, “On the Excretory Apparatus in Paramecium,” was published in Science—making her the first African American woman to publish in a major scientific journal.


Dr. Young went on to teach, mentor, and inspire future generations while continuing her work in biology and marine zoology.


Though she passed away in 1964, her legacy lives on in every lab, classroom, and institution working toward inclusion and excellence in science.

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