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Who Was Ernest Everett Just?
Ernest Everett Just was an influential African American biologist and educator renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to the fields of developmental physiology and cell biology. His pioneering research encompassed a wide array of topics, including fertilization, experimental parthenogenesis, hydration and dehydration in living cells, cell division, and the effects of ultraviolet carcinogenic radiation on cells. Just’s impactful legacy continued to resonate long after his passing on October 27, 1941.
Early Life
Born on August 14, 1883, in Charleston, South Carolina, Just was the son of Charles Frazier and Mary Matthews Just. An exceptionally intelligent and curious student, he attended Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire before enrolling at Dartmouth College. It was during his university years that Just developed a profound interest in biology after reading a seminal paper on fertilization and egg development. He excelled academically, earning the highest grades in Greek during his freshman year and being recognized as a Rufus Choate Scholar for two consecutive years. In 1907, he graduated as the sole magna cum laude student, receiving honors in botany, sociology, and history.
Career Success
Just began his professional career as a teacher and researcher at Howard University, a historically Black institution. In 1909, he took on a research position at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. He furthered his education by obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, where he specialized in experimental embryology and graduated magna cum laude.
His research significantly advanced the understanding of developmental physiology. Just served as editor for three scholarly journals and was awarded the NAACP’s inaugural Spingarn Medal in 1915 for his outstanding achievements as a Black American. From 1920 to 1931, he was a Julius Rosenwald Fellow in Biology at the National Research Council, an opportunity that allowed him to conduct research in Europe amid the racial discrimination he faced in the United States. During this period, he authored numerous research papers, including the notable 1924 publication “General Cytology,” which he co-wrote with esteemed scientists from Princeton University, the University of Chicago, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Marine Biological Laboratory.
Just was highly respected in his field; notable scientist Charles Drew referred to him as “a biologist of unusual skill and the greatest of our original thinkers in the field.”
Personal Life
Just married Ethel Highwarden, a high school teacher, on June 26, 1912. Together, they had three children—Margaret, Highwarden, and Maribel—before divorcing in 1939. That same year, he married Hedwig Schnetzler, a philosophy student he had met in Berlin. In 1940, Just was imprisoned by the German Nazis but was released with the assistance of his wife’s father. After escaping France, the couple welcomed their daughter, Elisabeth.
Death
Ernest Just passed away from pancreatic cancer in Washington, D.C., on October 27, 1941. He is interred at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.