Carl Glennis Roberts, MD (1886–1950) was an American surgeon, gynecologist, and civil right leader, active in Chicago.[2][3] He was one of the first African Americans to be elected to the American College of Surgeons; he was also a former president of the National Medical Association.[4]
Carl Glennis Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1886 Roberts Settlement, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States |
| Died | January 15, 1950 (aged 63) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Education | Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery, Valparaiso University, University of Chicago Medical School |
| Occupation(s) | Surgeon, gynecologist, physician, civil rights leader |
| Spouse | Lucille E. Williams (m. 1907–1950; his death)[1] |
| Children | 2[1] |
Early life and family
editCarl Glennis Roberts was born on December 15, 1886, in Roberts Settlement in Hamilton County, Indiana.[1] His father Carl Glennis Roberts Sr. (1837–1917) was also born at Roberts Settlement,[1] and his paternal great grandparents from North Carolina had established Roberts Settlement in 1823.[1] His maternal great grandfather was Jack Simpson, a chief of the Choctaw tribe.[1]
Roberts graduated from Fairmont High School and Academy, where he attended from 1901 to 1905.[1]
Education
editHe attended the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery (now Stritch School of Medicine); and Valparaiso University from 1907 to 1911.[1] Roberts was the first Black (or "colored") graduate from the medical school at Valparaiso University.[1]
After graduation, he continued his surgical studies at numerous schools, including at the Illinois Post Graduate School of Therapeutics; the Chicago Laboratory of Surgical Techniques; the Chicago Institute of Surgery; the Illinois Post-Graduate School of Operative Surgery; the University of Chicago Medical School (now Pritzker School of Medicine); and the Cook County Hospital Graduate School, Laboratory of Surgical Pathology.[2]
Career
editIn 1911, after receiving his medical degree, Roberts started a general medical practice and internship at the German American Hospital.[1] During World War I, Roberts organized the first African American sanitary corps for the American Red Cross, where he served as the commandant from 1918 to 1920.[1]
At the request of medical chief George Cleveland Hall, Roberts joined Provident Hospital in 1916 as the chairman of gynecology, and maintained this role until 1923; followed by serving as the chairman of surgery starting in 1935.[2] He worked as a gynecologist at Provident Hospital, from 1916 to 1920; as a gynecologist at the German American Hospital from 1918 to 1922; as a surgeon and attending staff at Chicago General Hospital from 1911 to 1928.[2][1]
Roberts served in 1925 as the president of the Chicago NAACP.[1] He was the president of the National Medical Association, from 1926 to 1927.[1] Roberts was one of the first African Americans to be certified by the American Board of Surgery.[2][5] Roberts also lectures at white Protestant churches on "racial relationships".[1]
Death
editHe experienced coronary thrombosis in 1941, and was said to have never fully recovered.[2] Roberts died of a heart attack on January 15, 1950, in Chicago.[2][6]
After his death, the National Medical Association held a memorial in his honor at the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University).[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Roberts, Carl Glenn". Who's Who in Colored America. Vol. 1. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1927. pp. 169–170 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g Drew, Charles R. (March 1950). "Carl Glennis Roberts, M.D., 1886–1950". Journal of the National Medical Association. 42 (2): 109–110. ISSN 0027-9684. PMC 2616632. PMID 20893549.
- ^ "Carl Roberts Obituary_Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. 1950-01-17. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vincent, Stephen A. (1999). Southern Seed, Northern Soil: African-American Farm Communities in the Midwest, 1765–1900. Midwestern History and Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9780253335777.
- ^ "Dr. Roberts Elected Diplomate A.B.S." The Black Dispatch. 1940-07-13. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-05-07 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Dr. Carl G. Roberts". The New York Times. January 17, 1950. p. 27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "Medic Memorial For Drs. Drew, Kennedy, Roberts". Alabama Tribune. 1950-05-12. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.