Charles Victor Roman
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Charles Victor Roman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 July 1864 |
| Died | 25 August 1934 (aged 70) U.S. |
| Education | Meharry Medical College, Fisk University |
| Occupation(s) | Surgeon, professor, author, civil rights activist |
| Known for | First African American physician trained in ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology; civil rights activism |
| Notable work | Journal of the National Medical Association (editor) |
| Spouse | Margaret Lee Voorhees |
Charles Victor Roman (July 4, 1864 – August 25, 1934) was a surgeon, professor, author, and civil rights activist born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and raised in Dundas, Ontario. He was the first Black person to graduate from Hamilton Collegiate Institute, a high school located in Hamilton, Ontario.[1][2]
Charles Roman was the fourth child of James William Roman and Anne Walker McGuinn. His father was an enslaved man who escaped to Canada from Maryland via the Underground Railroad, and his mother was the daughter of two enslaved Americans who escaped to Canada and later became successful farmers and landowners in Burford, Ontario.[1]
U.S. census documents indicate that Charles's parents lived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with their children (including Charles) sometime before 1860. The census also indicates that James worked as the captain of a canal boat while living in Pennsylvania. The family moved to Burford, Ontario, in 1870 when Charles was six years old[1] and then later to Dundas, Ontario, in 1867 for work opportunities.
At the age of 12, Charles found work at the Cotton Company, an industrial mill formerly known as the Cotton Factory based in Hamilton. Despite being very young, it was legal for children to work in industrial complexes and factories at the time. Charles would often work 12-hour days and then attend night school or supplement his learning with trips to the library when possible.[3]
At 17, Roman was injured in a workplace accident at the mill, which resulted in his leg being amputated.[1][4] This accident forced him to leave his job, but it allowed him to focus on his education. He enrolled in a four-year program at Hamilton Collegiate Institute, which he was able to complete in only two years.[1]