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History of Black Physicians
By Esly Caldwell, II, M.D
The very first physician of whom anything is known lived about 2500 BC in the
Nile Valley. His name was ImHoTep. He was of mixed heritage now claimed by
Whites; but if he were born in Cincinnati he would be BLACK. He founded a
School of Medicine. The earliest known [medical] text originated from him came
to light some 1300 years after his death; it is called the Edwin Smith
Papyrus. It had been copied down through the ages by hand. I used one of the
techniques from his text successfully in the year 2000 and others are still
excellent.
ImHoTep was also: 1. The architect of one of the
pyramids (the Step Pyramid). 2.The Prime Minister (of King Zoser). 3. The
Chief Priest for the kingdom of Zoser.
All modern healers ( now known as physicians) claim origin
with ImHotep.
I will present a historical review of allopathic physicians
( M.D.’s) in America, but we need to remember there have been many Black
practitioners of homeopathic or "naturopathic" medicine, etc..
The first known Black allopath (MD) was Dr. Louis Santome.
He was trained in Holland and practiced in New Amsterdam (old New York) in
1640. Not much else is known about him.
Around the time of the founding of the country, James Derham
practiced. He was a slave of two British Military physicians; he ultimately
practiced in New Orleans. Benjamin Rush, America’s leading physician of the
time and a signer of the Declaration of Independence wrote glowing tribute to
his knowledge. Whether he was ever freed is not clear but he made more than
$3000 per year. I think that George Washington made about $2000 per year on
his plantations, so it was a mighty sum for the time.
James McCune Smith, received his A.B. in 1835, his A.M. in
1836 and his MD in 1837 from University of Glasgow in Scotland and practiced
in New York City until after the War of the Rebellion. He debated John C.
Calhoun, the noted Racist and antebellum firebrand politician, U.S. Senator,
and Presidential Candidate on the power of the Black Man’s Mind. He was a
knowledgeable Master Physician and scholar in several areas.
Dr. Thomas White and John V DeGrasse finished Bowdoin in
Maine in 1849. Dr. DeGrasse went to France and studied with Dr. Velpeau, the
most noted surgeon of the time. He became fluent in French and ?German. He
returned to America as the ship’s surgeon
on the S.S. Samuel Fox. He was one of two Black physicians
to serve in combat units in the War of the Rebellion.
Around this time, David K. McDonough, a young slave
benefited from a wager between two slave owners on a Black Man’s intellect,
specifically whether a Black man could successfully complete medical training.
He was sent to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and graduated third in his
class. He was admitted to Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons,
graduated and practiced in New York, having won his freedom with the bet.
Dr. Alexander T. Augusta was born free in Norfolk, Va. He
learned to read by "stealth" since it was illegal for a Black person
to read in Virginia. He was trained as a barber and went to California during
the Gold Rush to earn money for school. Unable to get into a U.S. medical
school, he finished at the University of Toronto. He practiced in the
Caribbean and Baltimore, Md. He was commissioned directly by the "Hand of
Abraham Lincoln" a Major in the US Army. His protégé’, Dr. Anderson
Abbott followed him into the Army (Captain) and they both attended a
"Soirée’" (Party) at the invitation of President Abraham Lincoln.
At the end of the War of the Rebellion, he was brevetted Lt. Col, making him
the highest ranking Black officer.
Dr. Charles B. Purvis graduated from "Wigser
College", now known as Case Western Reserve University in 1867. He was
initially a Union Army Nurse then a physician. He and Dr. Augusta were among
the founders of Howard University Medical School. Dr. Purvis operated on the
President of the United States. He was present when President Garfield was
shot and went immediately to the scene attempting to save his life.
Unfortunately, his effort was unsuccessful.
Dr. Martin DeLaney attended Harvard but did not graduate due
to bigotry of some students and the Dean (Oliver Wendell Holmes). He was a
towering intellect in many areas. He was appointed a Major in the Union Army
directly by Abraham Lincoln to carry out John Brown’s mission of arming
slaves in insurrection in the south. He went to South Carolina to begin his
mission but the war ended before he really got started.
Dr. Rebecca J. Cole graduated from Women’s Medical College
in 1869. She practiced for fifty years. She was the first Black woman of
record.
Dr. John Rock initially taught school in New Jersey, then
practiced dentistry with some distinction in Philadelphia. After graduating
from Medical School in Philadelphia, he practiced excellent medicine but went
into law because "His health was bad.". He was denied a passport to
go to France for an operation by Dr. Velpeau .The U.S. Attorney General said
that, "by the Dred Scott Decision of the U.S. Supreme Court a Black man
could not be a citizen, so no passport was possible." The State of
Massachusetts, by State’s Rights gave him a passport and he could have his
operation. In Feb. 1864, he was admitted to practicing law before the U.S.
Supreme Court.
These are a few prominent Black physicians. The scope of
this article does not give me the chance to mention the many black hospitals
(like the one that was in existence in Cincinnati), medical schools (other
than Howard, Meharry, Drew, and Morehouse) and other significant black
endeavors that have contributed to the advancement of medicine in America.
Esly S. Caldwell, II, MD, MPH, FRCP(C), FAAFP, FACP
Dr. Caldwell, II is an internist in private practice in
Cincinnati. Reprint request for this article should be directed to allabh@allaboutblackhealth.com
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