Benjamin Franklin Scott

Benjamin Franklin Scott (1922–2000) was an American chemist and one of the African American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project, working at the University of Chicago. Early life and education Scott was born in Florence, South Carolina, on October 19, 1922, the son of Benny and Viola Scott. He had two older sisters, Mary and Rosa. Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, an HBCU (historically black college university), in 1942, where he later became president of the Alumni Club. In 1950, he earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Chicago. Career During World War II from 1943 to 1946, Scott worked at the Met Lab, metallurgical laboratory, at the University of Chicago, as part of the instrumentation and measurements section; likely working on isotope isolation and fission, although records have been unclear. He was one of fifteen African-American scientists who contributed to the development the Manhattan Project, which was authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 28, 1942, the year Scott graduated from Morehouse. The year before, President Roosevelt outlawed racial discrimination in the defense industries, Executive Order 8802 of 1941.