Austin Curtis
*The birth of Dr. Austin Maurice Curtis, Sr. in 1868 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American doctor.
From Raleigh, North Carolina, he was a prominent turn of the century physician and protégé of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. His first internship took place at Chicago’s Provident Hospital, in 1891. He was also the first Black surgeon on staff of Cook County Hospital (a non-segregated hospital) in 1896.
Curtis was a professor of Surgery, Howard University for 25 years and Chief Surgeon at their Freedmen's Hospital from 1898-1938 He died in 1939.
Reference:
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History
Volume 1, ISBN #0-02-897345-3
Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West
