Arthur McKinnon Brown (November 9, 1867 – December 4, 1939), also known as Arthur McKimmon Brown, was an American physician. In the city of Birmingham, Alabama, Brown was one of the earliest African American physicians,[1][2] and the first African American surgeon in the United States Army.[3] He was an influential in the creation of the Children's Home Hospital of Birmingham. For many years it was the only hospital in the city where Black doctors could practice.[4]
Arthur McKinnon Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 9, 1867 Raleigh, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | December 4, 1939 Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
| Burial place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
| Other names | Arthur McKimmon Brown |
| Education | Lincoln University, University of Michigan Medical School |
Early life and education
editArthur McKinnon Brown was born November 9, 1867, in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1] He attended public school in Raleigh.[1]
Brown graduated in 1888 from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.[1] He continued his educator at the University of Michigan Medical School (now University of Michigan Medicine), and graduated in 1891 as a surgeon.[2]
Career
edit
He passed the Alabama state medical examination, and opened up a private practice in Bessemer.[1] Other early Black doctors in Alabama at this time included Burgess E. Scruggs of Huntsville, Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson of Tuskegee, and Cornelius N. Dorsette of Montgomery.[5] In 1893, during the Panic of 1893 national financial crisis caused Brown to move to Birmingham, after a brief move to Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
During the Spanish–American War, Brown volunteered as a surgeon and accepted the role despite not being compensated, meanwhile the white surgeons in the war were given benefits.[1] He was assigned as commander to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, a Black military unit serving in Cuba.[1] He was shot by white hospital steward Thomas C. Reeds and his contract with the military was cancelled, he was dishonorably discharged in June 1899.[1][6]
Brown was active in organizations for Black physicians, and also served as president of the National Medical Association in 1914.[1]
Death and legacy
editBrown died after an illness on December 4, 1939, in his home in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham.[1]
References
edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wright, A. J. (December 11, 2014). "Brown, Arthur McKinnon". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ a b "On this day in Alabama history: Arthur McKinnon Brown was born". Alabama News Center. November 9, 2018.
- ^ "Dr. Arthur McKinnon Brown". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- ^ National Register of Historic Places (1995-07-13). African American Historic Places. John Wiley & Sons. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-471-14345-1.
- ^ "Burgess E. Scruggs". Encyclopedia of Alabama.
- ^ Hyson, J. M. (June 1999). "Doctors five: African-American contract surgeons in the Spanish-American War". Military Medicine. 164 (6): 435–441. ISSN 0026-4075. PMID 10377714.