Augustus A. White
{{Short description|American surgeon (born 1936)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Augustus A. White
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1936|06|04}}
| birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee
| death_date =
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| nationality =
| other_names =
| citizenship = American
| education = B.A.
M.D.
Ph.D.
| alma_mater = Brown University
Stanford University School of Medicine
Karolinska Institute
| occupation = Orthopedist
Orthopedic Surgeon
| known_for =
| notable_works = The Clinical Biomechanics of the Spine
Your Aching Back
| spouse = Anita White
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
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}}
Augustus A. White III (born June 4, 1936) is an American surgeon who is the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Medical Education and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a former Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.{{cite web|title=Augustus White|url=https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/39510|website=Harvard Catalyst|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|accessdate=5 September 2017}} White was the first African American medical student at Stanford, surgical resident at Yale University, professor of medicine at Yale, and department head at a Harvard-affiliated hospital (Beth Israel Hospital).{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=He cut through medicine's color line|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/03/08/he_cut_through_medicines_color_line/|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=7 September 2017}}
Biography
White was born on June 4, 1936, in Memphis, Tennessee, to his father, Augustus A. White Jr., and mother Vivian White. When he was eight, his father, a doctor, died unexpectedly.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}} White and his mother moved in with an aunt and uncle.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}} At thirteen, White left Tennessee to attend Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts. Upon graduation, White enrolled at Brown University, earning a B.A. in psychology and varsity letters in football and lacrosse.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}} He then attended Stanford University Medical School, serving as student body President and graduating in 1961.
After graduating from medical school, White served as an intern at the University of Michigan Medical Center, a general surgery resident at Presbyterian Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, and an orthopedic resident at Yale Medical Center.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=Augustus A. White III, MD, PhD: 2006 Diversity Award winner|url=http://www2.aaos.org/acadnews/2006News/sat/a25_8.htm|website=AAOS|publisher=American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=He cut through medicine's color line|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/03/08/he_cut_through_medicines_color_line/|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=7 September 2017}}
From 1966 to 1968, White served as Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps. From August 1966 to August 1967, he served as a combat surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, Vietnam. During his deployment, he volunteered during his off-duty time at the St. Francis Leprosarium, earning a Bronze Star for this work, as well as for a volunteer mission to help retrieve an injured soldier from a mountainside.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|publisher=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=Augustus A. White III, MD, PhD: 2006 Diversity Award winner|url=http://www2.aaos.org/acadnews/2006News/sat/a25_8.htm|website=AAOS|publisher=American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=He cut through medicine's color line|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/03/08/he_cut_through_medicines_color_line/|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=7 September 2017}}
Following his military service, White earned a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Upon returning to the United States and to Yale University, White was appointed assistant professor of Orthopedic Surgery (1969-1972), Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery (1972-1976), and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery (1977-1978). White was recruited to Beth Israel Hospital in 1978 as Orthpaedic Surgeon-in-Chief, serving in that position until 1991.{{cite web|title=Augustus A. White III, MD, PhD: 2006 Diversity Award winner|url=http://www2.aaos.org/acadnews/2006News/sat/a25_8.htm|website=AAOS|publisher=American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons|accessdate=5 September 2017}} At Beth Israel, he also served as Chief of the Spine Surgery Division (1991-1992) and Director of the Daniel E. Hogan Spine Fellowship Program (1983-2003).{{cite news|title=STUDY RECOMMENDS BRIEF REST FOR BACK PAIN|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/26/us/study-recommends-brief-rest-for-back-pain.html|work=The New York Times|date=26 October 1986 |accessdate=7 September 2017}} While at Beth Israel, White was Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (1978-) and Ellen and Melvin Gordon Professor of Medical Education (2001-) at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (1978-), Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.
Honors
White was a Brown University Alumni Trustee, served on the Board of Fellows from 1981 to 1992, and as member of the Committee on Medical Education (1991-1996).{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}}{{cite news|title=COMMITTEE VISITS BROWN U. TO WEIGH BLACKS' COMPLAINTS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/03/us/committee-visits-brown-u-to-weigh-blacks-complaints.html|work=The New York Times|date=3 November 1985 |accessdate=7 September 2017}} He was the President and co-founder of the J. Robert Gladden Society, whose mission “is to increase diversity within the orthopaedic profession and promote the highest quality musculoskeletal care for all people.”{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.gladdensociety.org/web/About/history.html|website=The J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society A Multicultural Organization|publisher=The J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society|accessdate=5 September 2017}} In 1989, White was appointed President of the University of Maryland at Baltimore, though he resigned a few weeks later before formally taking office, after a dispute with the Board of Regents.{{cite news|title=With 2 Leaders Quitting, U. of Maryland Is Shaken|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/us/with-2-leaders-quitting-u-of-maryland-is-shaken.html?mcubz=0|work=The New York Times| date=22 August 1989 |accessdate=5 September 2017 | last1=Daniels | first1=Lee A. }} In 1996, White served as Chairman of the Diversity Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.{{cite web|title=Augustus A. White III, MD, PhD: 2006 Diversity Award winner|url=http://www2.aaos.org/acadnews/2006News/sat/a25_8.htm|website=AAOS|publisher=American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons|accessdate=5 September 2017}} He authored the textbook Clinical Biomechanics of the Spine and the book for patients Your Aching Back. Since retiring from surgery in 2001, White has researched and written about issues of diversity and cultural sensitivity in medicine.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}} While studying in Sweden, White met his wife, Anita.{{cite web|title=The Doctor of Prejudice|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2981/40/|website=Brown Alumni Magazine|accessdate=5 September 2017}} They have three children.
Works or publications
- Clinical Biomechanics of the Spine (1978)
- Your Aching Back (1990)
- Seeing Patients (2011){{cite news|title=Book details prejudice in health care; article shows how to trim sugar intake|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/book_details_prejudice_in_health_care_article_shows_how_to_trim_sugar_intake/2010/12/22/ABLY3jD_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=7 September 2017}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- An [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/harvard-medical-school-dr-augustus-white/ interview] with Augustus White hosted by Tavis Smiley.
- An [http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dr-augustus-white-iii oral history] with Augustus White.
- [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HMS.Count:med00380 The Augustus A. White papers], The Center for the History of Medicine at the Countway Library, Harvard Medical School.
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Category:Brown Bears football players
Category:Brown Bears men's lacrosse players
Category:Stanford University School of Medicine alumni
Category:Karolinska Institute alumni
Category:Yale School of Medicine faculty
Category:Harvard Medical School faculty