Poindexter, Hildrus Augustus
1901-1987 · Contribution: 1930s-1960s
Bacteriologist and public-health specialist
Bacteriology and the epidemiology of tropical diseases — malaria, schistosomiasis, and other infectious diseases; field research and disease-control programs across Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1901, Memphis, Tennessee
- Active since
- 1929
- Category
- Science & Medicine
- Best known for
- First African American to earn both an MD and a PhD
Impact on the world
Poindexter became a leading global authority on tropical disease, running disease-control programs across four continents and advancing the field of international public health.
Sources
- Harvard Medical School (SITN)
1 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Hinton, William Augustus
1883-1959
Bacteriology, pathology, and public health; developed the Hinton test (1927) — a more accurate, inexpensive blood-serum (flocculation) test for syphilis — and, with J.A.V. Davies, the Davies-Hinton test; authored the first medical textbook published by an African American ('Syphilis and Its Treatment,' 1936)
Moore, Ruth Ella
1903-1994
Bacteriology and microbiology research — tuberculosis, blood-group distribution among Black Americans, dental caries, and the response of gut microorganisms to antibiotics
McKane, Cornelius
1862-1912
Co-founded the first hospital in Monrovia, Liberia and a hospital and nursing school in Savannah, Georgia
Satcher, David
1941-present
Public health leadership and policy; as Surgeon General, issued landmark reports on tobacco use among minorities, mental health, suicide prevention, and sexual health, and worked to eliminate racial health disparities