Frederick Douglass Stubbs
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Frederick Douglass Stubbs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 16, 1906 |
| Died | February 9, 1947 (aged 40) |
| Education | Dartmouth College Harvard Medical School |
| Occupation | Thoracic surgeon |
| Employer(s) | Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital Mercy Hospital Philadelphia General Hospital Jefferson Hospital Hahnemann Hospital Philadelphia Health Center |
| Spouse | Marion Turner Stubbs |
Frederick Douglass Stubbs (March 16, 1906 – February 9, 1947) was one of the first Harvard-trained Black doctors and became the first African American thoracic surgeon. He was "one of the country’s greatest young surgeons" noted for his advancements in treating pulmonary tuberculosis.[1][2]
Frederick Douglass Stubbs was born in Wilmington, Delaware on March 16, 1906.[3] His parents were Florence Blanche (née Williams) and J. Bacon Stubbs, a physician and surgeon who graduated from Howard University College of Medicine.[3][4] His mother was related to Daniel Hale Williams, an innovator of open-heart surgery and the founder of Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.[5]
Stubbs graduated as the class valedictorian from Howard High School in Wilmington in 1922.[3][6][7] He attended the Cushing Academy from 1922 to 1923.[3][4] In 1923, he started Dartmouth College, graduating with a Bachelors of Arts magna cum laude in 1927.[8][9][10] At Dartmouth, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[8] He was also received a Rufus Choate scholarship, allowing him to spend a summer studying at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.[4]
Next, Stubbs attended Harvard Medical School, graduating with his Doctor of Medicine cum laude in 1931.[3][8] He was the fourth Black to graduate from Harvard Medical and was the first African American to be elected to Alpha Omega Alpha at Harvard.[11][5][7]
He started his surgical residency in July 1931 at the Cleveland City Hospital; he was the first Black intern to work there.[5][6][12] His two years in Cleveland included the study of thoracic surgery.[5] He then completed a surgical residency at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School from 1933 to 1934.[5] After the death of a patient under his care, Stubbs extended his medical training.[3] He studied thoracic surgery for a year at Seavew Hospital in Staten Island, New York, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.[5][13][7] After completing his studies, Stubbs became the first Black thoracic surgeon.[7]
Career
Stubbs became the chief of thoracic surgery at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital in 1938.[3] He was briefly supernatant of the hospital.[4] He was also chief of surgery at Mercy Hospital.[14] In 1936, Philadelphia Mayor Samuel Davis Wilson appointed Stubbs to the position of assistant surgeon at Philadelphia General Hospital, Stubbs was the first Black member of the hospital's staff.[15][16] Later, he was acting chief surgeon of the division of tuberculosis of Philadelphia General Hospital.[3][14][5]
Stubbs was also an associate in surgery at Jefferson Hospital and a courtesy staff member of Hahnemann Hospital.[14][8] Stubbs was also the director of the Philadelphia Health Center, part of the city's Department of Health.[14][5] He used his expertise to help African Americans and people in the low-income areas of Philadelphia.[5] In 1938, he joined a national drive of the National Medical Association to address health concerns of African Americans, leading the program on tuberculosis.[13] He was also the surgeon for the Home of the Aged and Infirm Colored Persons.[7]
Stubbs received national acclaim for his advancements in thoracic surgery and the surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.[3][5] Time (magazine) featured his groundbreaking use of thoracoplasty at Douglass Hospital in April 1940.[5][7] He was the first African American to perform a lobectomy and a pneumonectomy.[7] He was considered "one of the country’s greatest young surgeons".[3]
Professional affiliations
Stubbs was the vice president of the National Medical Association and secretary of the surgical section and its commission on tuberculosis.[4] He was also a contributing editor for the Journal of the National Medical Association.[4] He was president of the Pennsylvania Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association.
Stuffs was a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Chest Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the International College of Surgeons.[14][8] He belonged to the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the National Tuberculosis Society.[14][4] He also belonged to the Laennic Society of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Tuberculosis Society, the Philadelphia Association of Tuberculosis Clinis, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the State Medical Society of Pennsylvania.[14][4]