Inventory to the Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers

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Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers
Series III: Folder 1
Julian Memorial Lecture, William Montague Cobb
Percy L. Julian Scholarship, Paul "Bo" McDougal '80
April 28, 1977

     It is most appropriate for Dr. Cobb to present this first PERCY L. JULIAN MEMORIAL LECTURE. For long years the lives of these two distinguished and uniquely productive black men were interwoven into a rich fabric reflecting their many broad scientific interests, their active concern for the improvement of educational opportunities for all, and their exemplary lives in the greater area of humanitarianism. Theirs was a special friendship of the mind and of the spirit.

     Dr. W. Montague Cobb was born in Washington, D.C., on October 12, 1904, and was graduated from the Dunbar High School. there in 1921. He received the A.B. degree from Amherst College in 1925, the M.D. from Howard University in 1929, and the Ph.D. in Anatomy and Physical Anthropology from Western Reserve University in 1932. In 1930 he was licensed for the practice of medicine and surgery in the District of Columbia. For 47 years he has been a member of the staff of Howard University College of Medicine, serving as head of the Department of Anatomy for 22 years. He was the first in his University to be elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor.

     Dr. Cobb's record of high achievement in his chosen field of science, as a distinguished educator and author, and as a tireless and dedicated worker in the greater area of human rights and social justice is of remarkable significance and scope. His activities, his accomplishments, his outreach are of such multiplicity that they can only be touched upon here.

     Dr. Cobb has served as Editor of the Journal of the National Medical Association for the past 27 years. This periodical is the official organ of Afro-American physicians. For 26 years he ahs been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and in January 1976, was elected president of this organization. Dr. Cobb has also served as president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and as vice-president and chairman of Section H (Anthropology) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

     He has been a leader in eliminating discrimination against Negro physicians in Washington, D.C. He organized the Imhotep National Conference on Hospital Integration in 1957. He served under President Kennedy and President Johnson in the organization of White House Audiences for members of the National Medical Association, and in 1965 was a member o the Executive Committee of the White House Conference on Health. Dr. Cobb has authored over 600 article and five books.

     He received a letter in track at Dunbar High School, Amherst College, and Howard University, winning cross-country championships at Amherst. In successive years he was college lightweight and welterweight boxing champion. In his spare time Dr. Cobb enjoys playing the violin and painting in water colors. A world traveler, he has recently returned from a mission to Africa.