Lord Beaconsfield Landry
*Lord Beaconsfield Landry was born on this date in 1878. He was a Black physician, civic leader, and vocal soloist.
From Donaldsonville, Louisiana, his father, Pierre Landry, was the first Black Mayor of Donaldsonville. Lord Beaconsfield received his elementary education in Donaldsonville and later completed high school at Gilbert Academy in Baldwin, Louisiana. He received a B. A. in 1902 from Fisk University, where he was a member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. He taught school until 1904 when he enrolled in Meharry Medical College. He received his M. D. degree in 1908 and returned to New Orleans to practice medicine in Algiers.
Dr. Landry, always interested in helping the less fortunate, began a column titled "How to Keep Well" in the Louisiana Weekly newspaper on May 8, 1928. He operated a free clinic for the poor people of Algiers and directed the Osceola Five, an all-male vocal group specializing in Black cultural music for educational and religious programs. On January 23, 1934, Dr. Landry died of blood poisoning. He was originally buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, but later, his remains were reburied in Nashville.
