B:: Clifton Forge, Virginia, 1899 D: New Orleans, November 9, 1964. Lifelong Struggle of a Zoologist Roger Arliner Young was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in zoology, after years of juggling research and teaching with the burden of caring for her invalid mother. Her story is one of grit and perseverance. Roger Arliner Young grew up in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. In 1916, she entered Howard University. In 1921, she took her first science course, under Ernest Everett Just, a prominent black biologist and head of the zoology department at Howard. Although her grades were poor, Just saw some promise and started mentoring Young. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1923. Her relationship with Just improved her skills, and he continued working with her. According to his biographer, Just probably chose a woman protege because he thought men more likely to pursue lucrative careers in medicine than to remain in academe.* Just helped Young find funding to attend graduate school. In 1924 she entered the University of Chicago part-time. Her grades improved dramatically. She was asked to join Sigma Xi, an unusual honor for a master's student. She also began publishing her research. Her first article, "On the Excretory Apparatus in Paramecium," appeared in Science in September 1924. She obtained her master's degree in 1926. Just invited Young to work with him during the summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, starting in 1927. Young assisted him with research on the fertilization process in marine organisms. She also worked on the processes of hydration and dehydration in living cells. Her expertise grew, and Just called her a "real genius in zoology." Early in 1929, Young stood in for Just as head of the Howard zoology department while Just worked on a grant project in Europe. It was the first of many trips to Europe for Just and the first of many stand-in appointments for Young. In the fall of that year, Young returned to Chicago to start a Ph.D. under the direction of Frank Lillie, the embryologist who had been Just's mentor at Woods Hole. But she failed her qualifying exams in January 1930. She had given little indication of stress, but the failure to qualify was devastating. She was broke and still had to care for her mother. She left and told no one her whereabouts. Lillie, deeply concerned, wrote the president of Howard about her mental condition. She eventually returned to Howard to teach and continued working at Woods Hole in the summers, but her relationship with Just cooled considerably. Just started easing her out of her position in 1933. There had been rumors about romance between Just and Young. Various accusations were exchanged. They had a confrontation in 1935, and in 1936 she was fired, ostensibly for missing classes and mistreating lab equipment. She took her firing as an opportunity. In June 1937, she went to the University of Pennsylvania to begin a doctorate under L. V. Heilbrunn, who had befriended her at Woods Hole and gave her the aid she needed to continue. She earned her Ph.D. in 1940. She took an assistant professorship at the North Carolina College for Negroes in Raleigh. Unfortunately, her mental health failed again. She worked short contracts in Texas and at Jackson State College in Mississippi. While in Mississippi in the late 1950s, she was hospitalized at the State Mental Asylum. She was discharged in 1962 and she went to Southern University in New Orleans. She died, poor and alone, on November 9, 1964.

This cartoon provides a humorous look at a northern hunting camp. Oscar "Ozz" Warbach, an illustrator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, drew it in 1971. Like many of his drawings, it's rich in detail. Just look at the myriad activities in which the characters are engaged! Ozz's appealing style gained him national reknown as a wildlife illustrator. A qualified biologist, he used cartoons to educate people about the habits of wildlife. Michigan Natural Resources Magazine, a Michigan DNR publication, regularly featured his work. The DNR still sells Ozz's book of illustrations, entitled Mother Nature's Michigan. Click Mother Nature's Michigan for ordering information. Copies of both the original 1976 edition and the subsequent 1990 edition can also be found in many Michigan libraries. Click Mother Nature's Michigan - Libraries to view the MELCat (Michigan Electronic Library Catalog) records. Oscar "Ozz" Warbach was born on March 21, 1913 and grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He liked to draw, but received little formal art training. Instead, he earned a Bachelor's degree in Animal Husbandry from Rutgers University in 1935 and a Bachelor's degree in Zoology from Michigan State University in 1938. In 1941, the Michigan Department of Conservation hired him as a game biologist. Ozz worked at the Department's Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center until the outbreak of World War II. He then joined the First Army Evacuation Hospital, where he became a Captain. During his training, he met his future wife, Laura, who was then an Army nurse. After the War, he worked for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Patuxeut Research Refuge in Maryland. In 1954, the Michigan Department of Conservation created a "conservation illustrator" position, and Ozz returned to Michigan. He stayed in this position until his retirement from the DNR in 1977 (The Department of Conservation was renamed the Department of Natural Resources in 1968.). Afterwards, he continued to draw on a free-lance basis. By 1990, Ozz was living in Florida. Much of his original art now resided within the Archives of Michigan. Archivist Helen Taylor phoned him that year to ask about those illustrations and whether he held any copy right on them. He seemed surprised and noted that he drew them as a State of Michigan employee. "All my drawings," he said, "belong to the people of Michigan." The following summer, Ozz stopped by the Archives to introduce himself. He seemed pleased that his art was being preserved and appreciated. Oscar Warbach passed away on March 3, 2002. To the people of Michigan, he left one lasting gift: Approximately five hundred of his original illustrations are permanently housed within the Archives of Michigan. They represent the legacy of one who used his talents to educate as well as entertain.