Profile: Samuel Proctor Massie, Jr., Ph.D., Named One of the 75 Most Distinguished Chemists of the Twentieth Century

Chemist • Educator • Manhattan Project Scientist

Samuel P. Massie, Jr. entered science at a time when talent did not guarantee opportunity for Black Americans. Denied admission to the University of Arkansas because of his race, he continued his education elsewhere and became a chemist whose work would reach into some of the most important scientific institutions in the nation. 

During World War II, while completing his doctorate at Iowa State, Massie worked at Ames Laboratory on the secret Manhattan Project. He later became the first Black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, conducted research on medicines and infectious diseases, and spent decades educating future scientists. His life tells a larger story about achievement in the face of barriers: the doors that discrimination tried to close did not define the limits of his ability.

Overview:

Dr. Samuel Proctor Massie, Jr. (1919 - 2005) was an accomplished organic chemist, educator, and researcher whose career spanned the Manhattan Project, higher education, scientific research, and the U.S. Naval Academy. Born in Arkansas in 1919, he demonstrated remarkable academic ability from an early age, graduating from high school at just thirteen. Yet his intelligence did not protect him from racial discrimination. The University of Arkansas rejected his application because he was Black.

Massie continued his education at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in chemistry at age eighteen. He later earned a master's degree from Fisk University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Iowa State University. While pursuing his doctorate, he became one of the Black scientists who contributed to the Manhattan Project, conducting research at Ames Laboratory involving uranium compounds.

His scientific career continued long after World War II. Massie taught at historically Black colleges and universities, held leadership positions in science education, served as president of North Carolina College at Durham, and in 1966 became the first Black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. His research included work related to infectious diseases and therapeutic drugs. In 1998, he was named one of the 75 most distinguished chemists of the twentieth century.

Primary Source Spotlight:

In his 1946 dissertation, Massie explored high-molecular-weight compounds containing nitrogen and sulfur as potential therapeutic agents—chemical compounds that might be used to treat disease. His work reflected an early effort to use chemistry to develop new medicines, an interest that continued throughout his scientific career.

Quick Facts:

• Born: July 3, 1919, in Little Rock, Arkansas

• Died: April 10, 2005, in Laurel, Maryland

• Graduated from high school at age thirteen

• Denied admission to the University of Arkansas because of his race

• Earned a B.S. in Chemistry summa cum laude at age eighteen

• Earned a master's degree in chemistry from Fisk University

• Earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Iowa State University

• Worked on the Manhattan Project at Ames Laboratory

• Helped research the conversion of uranium isotopes into usable liquid compounds

• From 1962 to 1966 Massie was President of North Carolina Central College (now North Carolina Central University) at Durham 

• Became the first Black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy

• Served as chair of the Naval Academy's Department of Chemistry

• Conducted research involving therapeutic drugs and infectious diseases

• Helped establish a Black studies program at the Naval Academy

• Named one of the 75 most distinguished chemists of the twentieth century in 1998

Why This Story Matters:

Samuel P. Massie's story challenges two powerful stereotypes at once: the stereotype that Black Americans were absent from major scientific developments and the belief that discrimination prevented them from reaching the highest levels of achievement.

Massie was working in advanced chemistry during the 1940s, when opportunities for Black scientists were severely limited. Even after gaining admission to Iowa State for doctoral study, he faced segregated housing and laboratory facilities. Yet he continued his research and became part of the scientific effort supporting the Manhattan Project.

His achievements did not end there. Massie became a professor, department chair, university president, research scientist, and eventually the first Black faculty member at the U.S. Naval Academy. His career demonstrates that Black scientific achievement was already deeply woven into American research, education, and innovation long before modern efforts to diversify STEM fields.

Primary Source Spotlight:

Scientific Innovation & His Own Story

Massie’s career combined scientific innovation with a commitment to education and mentorship. The 1984 U.S. patent documents his work as a co-inventor of chemical compounds investigated for treating gonorrhea, malaria, and other bacterial infections. His autobiography, Catalyst: The Autobiography of an American Chemist, provides his own account of the experiences, research, and people that shaped his life as a scientist and educator. 

Legacy:

Samuel P. Massie, Jr.'s legacy cannot be contained by a single accomplishment. During World War II, while pursuing his doctorate in organic chemistry at Iowa State University under chemist Henry Gilman, Massie became part of the secret scientific work connected to the Manhattan Project through research at Ames Laboratory. From 1943 to 1945, he worked as a research assistant on uranium-related research, including efforts to convert uranium isotopes into liquid compounds that could be used in the development of the atomic bomb. His work formed part of the larger scientific effort surrounding the production and use of uranium during the Manhattan Project.

The path that brought him there reflected one of the central contradictions of his life—and of the nation in which he lived. After his father's death in 1943, Massie returned to Arkansas and sought to renew his draft deferment so he could continue his advanced scientific education. According to accounts included in the materials for this profile, a member of the draft board used a racial slur while objecting to Massie's advanced education and denied his request. Massie contacted Henry Gilman, who recruited him for the wartime research connected to the Manhattan Project.

That experience reflected a painful reality: the United States depended on the knowledge and abilities of Black scientists during one of the most consequential scientific efforts in history while those same scientists continued to face discrimination in their education, housing, careers, and daily lives. Massie's own life repeatedly demonstrated that contradiction. As a young man, he had been rejected by the University of Arkansas because of his race. At Iowa State, he encountered segregated housing and laboratory conditions. Yet he continued his education, completed his Ph.D., and built a career that would take him into scientific and educational institutions where Black Americans had long been excluded.

After World War II, Massie combined scientific research with a deep commitment to education. He taught at Fisk University and Langston University, eventually becoming chair of the chemistry department at Langston. He became president of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, the first African American to hold that position, and later served in leadership roles at the National Science Foundation and Howard University. From 1962 to 1966, he served as president of North Carolina College at Durham, now North Carolina Central University.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Massie to the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy, making him the institution's first Black professor. Even that historic achievement did not shield him and his family from discrimination. According to the materials for this profile, Massie and his wife later encountered housing discrimination in Annapolis when real estate agents refused to show them homes. Still, Massie continued to teach, research, lead, and help change institutions from within.

At the Naval Academy, he pursued research involving antibacterial agents and diseases including malaria, herpes, and meningitis. He and his colleagues also received a patent connected to an antibiotic used to treat gonorrhea. He eventually became chair of the Department of Chemistry, serving from 1977 to 1981. His scientific career had expanded far beyond his wartime uranium research, but his commitment to chemistry and to preparing future generations of scientists remained constant.

Massie's contributions were eventually recognized in numerous ways, including the creation of the Dr. Samuel P. Massie Chair of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Energy. In 1998, he was named one of the 75 most distinguished chemists of the twentieth century—one of only three Black Americans included in that distinction.

Samuel P. Massie, Jr. was a Manhattan Project scientist, researcher, educator, administrator, inventor, and barrier-breaker. His life is a reminder that Black scientists were not waiting for permission to participate in American science. They were already there—conducting research, educating students, developing new knowledge, and contributing to some of the most consequential scientific work of the twentieth century. Samuel P. Massie, Jr. was there: at the intersection of chemistry, the Atomic Age, scientific education, and the continuing struggle for equal opportunity.

Discussion Questions:

1. Massie was denied admission to the University of Arkansas because of his race. How might his life have been different if he had been judged only on his academic ability?

2. Why is it important to recognize that Black scientists such as Massie contributed to major scientific projects decades before the Civil Rights Bill became a law?

3. Samuel Massie used his knowledge in several different ways throughout his life—as a scientist, professor, and leader. Which of those roles do you think gave him the greatest chance to influence other people's lives? Explain your answer. 

Reflection Prompt:

1. Samuel P. Massie, Jr. faced barriers at nearly every stage of his education and career, yet he continued to pursue science and eventually helped change schools, workplaces, and other organizations that had once excluded people like him. What responsibility, if any, do successful individuals have to help open doors for others—and what can schools, workplaces, and other organizations do to make sure those doors do not need to be forced open again? 

Sources & Further Reading:

1. “Black History Month: 5 Facts About Dr. Samuel P. Massie,” U.S. Department of Energy, Website, February 14, 2019. 

2. "Samuel Proctor Massie (1919–2005)." BlackPast.org. Website. 

3. “Samuel Proctor Massie Jr. (1919–2005).” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Website. 

4. “Manhattan Project Scientists: Samuel Proctor Massie.” National Park Service. Website. 

5. "Samuel Proctor Massie Papers.” U.S. Naval Academy Nimitz Library. Website. 

6. Samuel P. Massie. “High-Molecular Weight Compounds of Nitrogen and Sulfur as Therapeutic Agents.” Dissertation. Iowa State College. 

7. William (Bill) Clay. “Tribute to Dr. Samuel P. Massie—Mentor, Leader, and Top Scientist.” Congressional Record. U.S. House of Representatives. 

8. John P. Scovill, Daniel L. Klayman, Samuel P. Massie, et al. U.S. Patent No. 4,440,771, “2-Acetyl Quinoline Thiosemicarbazones Useful in Treatment of Gonorrhea, Malaria or Bacterial Infections.” Patent. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

9. Massie, Samuel P., with Robert C. Hayden. Catalyst: The Autobiography of an American Chemist. S.P. Massie, 2001. 

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