After attending private and public schools in New York during his early years, both he and his twin brother Leopold were sent to Germany for their higher education.

Julius and his twin brother Leopold were born in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 26, 1867, to Edward Stieglitz (1833–1909) and Hedwig Ann Werner (1845–1922).

He began his career at the University of Chicago in 1892 as an unpaid docent, lecturing without salary and sustaining himself from student donations.

In 1933, he was named professor emeritus but continued to teach and serve as board chair of the American Chemical Society.

There was a pause in presentation from 1994 until 1999 until the funds built up to a level where they were sufficient to support a stipend of $1,000 plus expenses for each year.