William Jacob Knox Jr.

William Jacob Knox Jr. (January 5, 1904 – July 9, 1995) was an American chemist at Columbia University in New York City and one of the African American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project. Knox held an unprecedented position, serving as the only African American supervisor for the Manhattan Project. Knox is credited for nuclear research of gaseous diffusion techniques used for the separation of uranium isotopes. Knox’s efforts in the development of uranium contributed to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945.
Knox was highly educated and received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Knox then continued his postgraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in New Bedford, Massachusetts. By 1935, the Knox family alone made up 7% of total African Americans to hold a Ph.D.
After the war, Knox became a research assistant at Eastman Kodak Company. Knox is credited as being “the man to consult about coating problems”. As Knox ended his career in science, he became involved in activism and additional professional pursuits.