BHS Day 3: Alexander Thomas Augusta

Hi! I wanted Thursdays to celebrate the accomplishments that African-Americans have made in the educational, legal and medical fields. There have been so many notable accomplishments in all three industries that it would be impossible to include them all, but at least we'll be able to discuss a few of them. This week's edition focuses on the medical field, and with that I present today's Spotlight, which covers two of these categories.

Source

Name: Alexander Thomas Augusta, 1825-1890

Profession: Surgeon & professor of medicine

Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his medical services during the Civil War and later, his educational accomplishments at Howard University

Accomplishments:
--First Black surgeon in the US Army
--First Black hospital administrator in the US
--Highest-ranking Black Union officer during the Civil War
--First Black person to receive two honorary degrees from Howard University

Brief biography:
There isn't a plethora of knowledge available on Alexander Thomas Augusta, but from the further reading links below I was able to pull together a small biography. Born a free man in Virginia, he grew up mostly without event and became a barber. Virginia state law at the time had restricted people of color from having certain rights, one of those rights being education, a result of the Nat Turner rebellion that occurred a few years after Augusta's birth. Despite that, however, Augusta learned to read while earning his wages as a barber, then moved on to pursue a career in medicine. His aspirations were curbed a bit by medical schools refusing to allow him to enroll, but after being refused entry at the University of Pennsylvania, a faculty member took Augusta under his wing and mentored him for awhile. Knowing that the racist behavior by colleagues would probably continue, he later moved to Toronto, where he enrolled and received his medical degree from the University of Toronto's Trinity College. 
While in Canada, he established a medical practice, created an organization to assist with educating Black children and supported anti-slavery practices. He moved back to the States at the beginning of the Civil War and received a Presidential commission to lend his services to the troops. His military career resulted in him being the highest-ranking Black officer at that time, which eventually caused problems with comrades who expressed their discomfort at having to report to a Black officer. He was later assaulted because of his rank and left the military after being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. After his military career came to a close, he went back into private practice in Washington, D.C. and became the first Black professor of medicine at Howard University. He was later awarded two honorary degrees from the University and died with full military honors and recognition. 

Further reading links:
BlackPast | Wikipedia | AA Registry

You already know what I'm going to say. Alexander Thomas Augusta, as well as his list of accomplishments, was something I was never taught in school so today was my first time learning about who he was. I think it's pretty awesome that despite education rights for Blacks at that time, Augusta was determined to make something of himself, whether he had to break the law to do it or not. I also like that in both today and yesterday's stories, even though these men had to go to other countries to pursue their careers, there was acceptance for them somewhere. I admire Augusta's courage and his dedication to his craft, because he really blew the door wide open on the medical field by being the first of so many things in the medical industry. I hope you enjoyed today's entry and I'll see you tomorrow!