Alexander Thomas Augusta
| Alexander Thomas Augusta | |
|---|---|
Alexander Thomas Augusta
|
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| Born |
March 8, 1825 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Died | December 21, 1890 (aged 65) Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
| Known for | American Civil War surgeon |
Alexander Thomas Augusta (March 8, 1825 – December 21, 1890) was a surgeon, veteran of the American Civil War, and the first black professor of medicine in the United States. After gaining his medical education in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1850 to 1856, he set up a practice there. He returned to the United States shortly before the start of the American Civil War.
Augusta offered his services to the United States Army and in 1863, he was commissioned as major and the Army's first African-American physician; he became the first black hospital administrator in U.S. history while serving in the army. He left the army in 1866 at the rank of brevet lieutenant colonel.
In 1868 Augusta was the first African American to be appointed to the faculty of Howard University and the first to any medical college in the United States.
Augusta was born in 1825 to free people of color in Norfolk, Virginia. As a young man, he began to learn to read while working as a barber, although it was illegal for free blacks to do so in Virginia at that time. The state had restricted rights of free people of color following the Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1831.
Augusta moved to Baltimore while still in his youth. He also began pursuing an education in the field of medicine. He married Baltimore native Mary O. Burgoin on January 12, 1847.
Augusta applied to study medicine at the University of Pennsylvania but was refused admission. Although he faced institutionalized racism later in his career, the university cited inadequate preparation in its rejection of him. Augusta persisted in his education and arranged for private instruction from a doctor on the faculty. As he was determined to become a physician, Augusta travelled to California and earned the funds to pursue his goal of becoming a doctor.
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