Ernest Everett Just: Marine Biologist, Innovator and Fraternity Pioneer

Ernest Everett Just was a pioneering American biologist who showed the vital role of the cell surface in development. He advanced marine biology, cytology and parthenogenesis by studying whole cells in their natural state. Born in Charleston in 1883, Just overcame early tragedies and illness. His mother founded the Maryville community near Charleston to support local Black families. He excelled at Dartmouth College and earned his PhD at the University of Chicago. Just taught at Howard University and conducted research at top marine labs in Europe. He won the 1915 Spingarn Medal and co-founded the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. During World War II he was briefly detained in Europe but returned to the US, where he died of cancer in 1941. His life inspired a major biography and a US commemorative stamp. Today, science symposia and awards at Howard University, Dartmouth College and the Medical University of South Carolina honor his legacy.

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