A. Wilberforce Williams | |
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Born | Albert Wilberforce Williams January 31, 1865 |
Died | February 26, 1940 |
Burial place | Lincoln Cemetery |
Other names | Wilberforce Williams |
Alma mater |
Lincoln Institute, Northwestern University Medical School, Sheldon Business College |
Occupation(s) | Physician, surgeon, journalist, educator |
Spouse | Mary Elizabeth Tibbs |
A. Wilberforce Williams (January 31, 1865–February 26, 1940), [1] was an American physician, surgeon, educator, and journalist. [2] He worked in Chicago for most of his career and specialized in internal medicine, the treatment of tuberculosis, and heart disease. Williams wrote a health column for The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper.
Albert Wilberforce Williams was born on January 31, 1865, in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, to African American parents Flora and Baptise Williams. [1] [3] [4] His first thirteen years of life was spent on a plantation. [4]
He attended the Normal School at Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri. [1] [4] He had worked as a school teacher in Kansas City in his early career. [3] Williams graduated from Northwestern University Medical School (now Feinberg School of Medicine) in 1894, and Sheldon Business College of Chicago in 1907. [1] In 1902, he married Mary Elizabeth Tibbs a school teacher from Kentucky. [1] [5]
From 1897 until 1940, he worked as a staff physician at Chicago's Provident Hospital, working alongside noted cardiologist and hospital founder Daniel Hale Williams. [1] [3] [6] He was also the head of the medical department post-graduate school at Provident Hospital. [4]
He wrote a health column for The Chicago Defender, titled "Dr. A. Wilberforce Williams Talks on Preventive Measures, First Aid Remedies, Hygienics and Sanitation." [6] Williams advocated for better sanitary practices, hygiene, proper ventilation, preventative medical care, and against superstition. He also wrote about venereal diseases and masturbation, at a time when it was against the cultural normal. [7]
The United States government selected Williams as a member of an advisory board, to supervise the work of the local exemptions board. [4] Williams was the president of the Physicians, Dentists, and Pharmacists Association of Chicago. [3] [4] He was a member of the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and served as their "grand medical director". [3]
He corresponded with W. E. B. Du Bois twice, which is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries archives; the first correspondence was regarding the second Pan-African Congress (1921), and the second was his interest in the Encyclopedia of the Negro (1935). [8] [9]
Williams died from a heart attack on February 26, 1940, in Chicago. [5] [10] He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois.
A. Wilberforce Williams | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Albert Wilberforce Williams January 31, 1865 |
Died | February 26, 1940 |
Burial place | Lincoln Cemetery |
Other names | Wilberforce Williams |
Alma mater |
Lincoln Institute, Northwestern University Medical School, Sheldon Business College |
Occupation(s) | Physician, surgeon, journalist, educator |
Spouse | Mary Elizabeth Tibbs |
A. Wilberforce Williams (January 31, 1865–February 26, 1940), [1] was an American physician, surgeon, educator, and journalist. [2] He worked in Chicago for most of his career and specialized in internal medicine, the treatment of tuberculosis, and heart disease. Williams wrote a health column for The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper.
Albert Wilberforce Williams was born on January 31, 1865, in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, to African American parents Flora and Baptise Williams. [1] [3] [4] His first thirteen years of life was spent on a plantation. [4]
He attended the Normal School at Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri. [1] [4] He had worked as a school teacher in Kansas City in his early career. [3] Williams graduated from Northwestern University Medical School (now Feinberg School of Medicine) in 1894, and Sheldon Business College of Chicago in 1907. [1] In 1902, he married Mary Elizabeth Tibbs a school teacher from Kentucky. [1] [5]
From 1897 until 1940, he worked as a staff physician at Chicago's Provident Hospital, working alongside noted cardiologist and hospital founder Daniel Hale Williams. [1] [3] [6] He was also the head of the medical department post-graduate school at Provident Hospital. [4]
He wrote a health column for The Chicago Defender, titled "Dr. A. Wilberforce Williams Talks on Preventive Measures, First Aid Remedies, Hygienics and Sanitation." [6] Williams advocated for better sanitary practices, hygiene, proper ventilation, preventative medical care, and against superstition. He also wrote about venereal diseases and masturbation, at a time when it was against the cultural normal. [7]
The United States government selected Williams as a member of an advisory board, to supervise the work of the local exemptions board. [4] Williams was the president of the Physicians, Dentists, and Pharmacists Association of Chicago. [3] [4] He was a member of the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and served as their "grand medical director". [3]
He corresponded with W. E. B. Du Bois twice, which is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries archives; the first correspondence was regarding the second Pan-African Congress (1921), and the second was his interest in the Encyclopedia of the Negro (1935). [8] [9]
Williams died from a heart attack on February 26, 1940, in Chicago. [5] [10] He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois.