Frederick Douglass Stubbs
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.
Early life
[edit]Frederick Douglas Stubbs was born in Wilmington, Delaware on March 16, 1906.[1] His parents were Florence Blanche (née Williams) and J. Bacon Stubbs, a physician and surgeon who graduated from Howard University College of Medicine.[1][2] His mother was related to Daniel Hale Williams, an innovator of open-heart surgery and the founder of Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.[3]
Stubbs graduated as the class valedictorian from Howard High School in Wilmington in 1922.[1][4][5] He attended the Cushing Academy from 1922 to 1923.[1][2] In 1923, he started Dartmouth College, graduating with a Bachelors of Arts magna cum laude in 1927.[6][7][8] At Dartmouth, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[6] He was also received a Rufus Choate scholarship, allowing him to spend a summer studying at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.[2]
Next, Stubbs attended Harvard Medical School, graduating with his Doctor of Medicine cum laude in 1931.[1][6] 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.[9][3][5]
He started his surgical residency in July 1931 at the Cleveland City Hospital; he was the first Black intern to work there.[3][4][10] His two years in Cleveland included the study of thoracic surgery.[3] He then completed a surgical residency at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School from 1933 to 1934.[3] After the death of a patient under his care, Stubbs extended his medical training.[1] He studied thoracic surgery for a year at Seavew Hospital in Staten Island, New York, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.[3][11][5] After completing his studies, Stubbs became the first Black thoracic surgeon.[5]
Career
[edit]Stubbs became the chief of thoracic surgery at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital in 1938.[1] He was briefly supernatant of the hospital.[2] He was also chief of surgery at Mercy Hospital.[12] 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.[13][14] Later, he was acting chief surgeon of the division of tuberculosis of Philadelphia General Hospital.[1][12][3]
Stubbs was also an associate in surgery at Jefferson Hospital and a courtesy staff member of Hahnemann Hospital.[12][6] Stubbs was also the director of the Philadelphia Health Center, part of the city's Department of Health.[12][3] He used his expertise to help African Americans and people in the low-income areas of Philadelphia.[3] In 1938, he joined a national drive of the National Medical Association to address health concerns of African Americans, leading the program on tuberculosis.[11] He was also the surgeon for the Home of the Aged and Infirm Colored Persons.[5]
Stubbs received national acclaim for his advancements in thoracic surgery and the surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.[1][3] Time (magazine) featured his groundbreaking use of thoracoplasty at Douglass Hospital in April 1940.[3][5] He was the first African American to perform a lobectomy and a pneumonectomy.[5] He was considered "one of the country’s greatest young surgeons".[1]
Professional affiliations
[edit]Stubbs was the vice president of the National Medical Association and secretary of the surgical section and its commission on tuberculosis.[2] He was also a contributing editor for the Journal of the National Medical Assocation.[2] 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.[12][6] He belonged to the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the National Tuberculosis Society.[12][2] 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.[12][2]
Honors
[edit]The Surgical Section of the National Medical Association named its annual lecture in surgery The Frederick Douglass Stubbs Surgical Lecture.[3]
The Frederick Douglass Stubbs Elementary School in Wilmington, Delaware, was named in his honor in 1953.[15][16]
Personal life
[edit]Stubbs married Marion Virginia Turner, a Philadelphia socialite and concert pianist who was the daughter of the surgeon John P. Turner,[17][12] on June 7, 1934.[17][18] The couple had two daughters, Marion Patricia Stubbs and Frederica Turner Stubbs.[17] Their winter home was at 1920 N. 12th Street in Philadelphia and they had a summer home at West Valley Road in Strafford, Pennsylvania.[12]
Stubbs served on the boards of the Cheney Training School for Teachers, the Community Chest, and the Family Society.[12][6] He was a member of Sigma Pi Phi.[5]
While traveling by train from New York City to Long Island City with his wife, Stubbs died from a heart attack on February 9, 1947, at the age of 41.[12] He was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital in Long Island.[6]
Selected publications
[edit]- "Phrenic, Exeresis in Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis". Pennsylvania Medical Journal, vol. 39, p. 776, 1936.[2]
- "Surgical Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in The Small General Hospital" Provident Hospital Bulletin, vol. 2, p. 1, 1939.[2]
- "Acute Silicosis". Archives of Pathology, vol. 24, p. 274, 1939.
- "Closed Intrapleural Pneumonolysis with Report of 40 Cases". National Medical Assocation, vol. 31, p. 93, 1939.[2]
- "The Fundamental Physiologic Concepts Underlying Major Surgery of the Chest". Journal of the National Medical Assocation, vol. 35, p. 1, 1943. (Third Annual Oration in Surgery, N. M. A.)[2]
- "Closed Intrapleural Pneumonolysis: A Resume". Clinics, vol. 3, p. 1123, 1945. (Abstract in Year Book of Surgery, 1945)[2]
- "Present Trends in The Surgical Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis" Bulletin of the National Tuberculosis Assocation, June 1945. (Trudeau Society Article)[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Dr. Frederick Douglas Stubbs, M.D., F.A.C.S." CHAAMP (Consortium on the History of African Americans in the Medical Professions). University of Virginia. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cobb, W Montague. “Frederick Douglass Stubbs, 1906-1947: An Appreciation.” Journal of the National Medical Association, vol. 40, no. 1 (January 1948): 24-6. via PubMed Central.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mahoney, Eleanor (2018-01-14). "Frederick D. Stubbs (1906-1947) •". Black History. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b "Young Medic Blazes Trail at the Cleveland City Hospital". Newspapers.com. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: New Pittsburgh Courier. 1933-07-22. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gray Jr., William H. (May 1941). "Frederick Douglass Stubbs 'Servant of All'". The Sphinx. 27 (4): 10 – via issuu.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Frederick Douglass Stubbs". Blacks@Dartmouth 1775 to 1960. Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Dartmouth Degrees for 341 Men Are Granted". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. 1927-06-21. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Dartmouth Gave Out 341 Degrees". Newspapers.com. Barre, Vermont: The Barre Daily Times. 1927-06-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Matson, Paul (2023-02-23). "Nevada City mayor's family honored in Washington, D.C." The Union. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Young Medic Blazes Trail at Cleveland Hospital". Newspapers.com. Kansas City, Missouri: The Call. 1933-07-21. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b Baker, Joseph V. (1938-06-12). "Plan Disease War Among Negroes". Newspapers.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dr. F. D. Stubbs Dies on Train". Newspapers.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1947-02-10. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
- ^ "First Negro Medic Named on Staff of Philly Hospital". Newspapers.com. Detroit, Michigan: The Detroit Tribune. 1936-06-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Named on Phila. Gen. Hospital Body". Newspapers.com. The St. Louis Argus. 1936-06-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "School History". Stubbs Early Education Center. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Varma, Karvita (1993-12-09). "Stubbs School's 40th Anniversary Was Cause for a Lively Celebration". Newspapers.com. Wilmington, Delaware: The News Journal. p. 53. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b c "Marion Turner Stubbs, Civic Organizer". African American Registry. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
- ^ "Turner-Stubbs Nuptials Fashionable Highlight". Newspapers.com. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: New Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-06-09. p. 9, pt. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-24.