Louis T. Wright

Surgeon, researcher, and activist

• Born: July 23, 1891
• Birthplace: LaGrange, Georgia
• Died: October 8, 1952
• Place of death: New York, New York

Wright was a successful surgeon and researcher who achieved goals and held positions previously considered unattainable for African American physicians. His efforts at Harlem Hospital to increase the quality of care and raise the bar for residency set standards for hospital care.

Early Life

Louis Tompkins Wright was one of two children born to Caeh Kentchen Wright, a physician and Episcopalian minister, and Lula Tompkins, a sewing teacher, both of whom were born as slaves. Wright’s father died of gastric cancer when Wright was three years old. His mother remarried, to another physician who cultivated Wright’s interest in medicine and raised the boy’s awareness about racial discrimination.

Lula enrolled Wright in first grade at Thayer Home, where she taught, at the age of four. He excelled throughout secondary education. Wright was valedictorian of his class and graduated with distinction in chemistry from Clark University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1912. He then enrolled at Harvard University Medical School. Wright insisted on performing his obstetrics rotation with his classmates at Boston Lying-In Hospital, which served white patients, after the university attempted to force him to an all-African American hospital across town. His diligence brought praise from supervisors and broke the racial barrier at the hospital. He graduated fourth in his class in 1915 but was denied membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society because he was African American. Wright also was rejected from several residency programs because of his race, but he did gain acceptance to a one-year internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Life’s Work

At Freedmen’s Hospital, Wright became interested in the Schick test for diphtheria, which researchers claimed could not be used on African American patients because of their dark skin. He published a scientific article demonstrating that the test was equally valuable and reliable for white and black patients. He then returned to Atlanta, where he established a private practice and became treasurer of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Wright’s stay in Atlanta was short-lived, however. He enlisted in the U.S. Army’s Medical Reserve Corps during World War I. Still stateside, he introduced the intradermal vaccination for smallpox.

While in France, Wright was exposed to phosgene from a German gas shell, which resulted in permanent lung damage. Upon returning from France in 1919 with a Purple Heart, he worked at a venereal disease clinic. Wright was the first physician to treat humans with aureomycin for lymphogranuloma inguinale, a sexually transmitted bacterial infection. Soon afterward, he became the first African American surgeon at Harlem Hospital to obtain an attending position, a position he struggled to get after many attempts. He specialized in head injuries. In 1938, Wright was appointed director of surgeons and the medical board. His contribution to the hospital went beyond medical obligations; he attempted to fully integrate Harlem Hospital, improve the poor physical condition of the facility, and improve the staff’s overall professional standards. He created the Harlem Hospital Bulletin, the hospital’s medical library, and a cancer research center. In 1940, he was awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for raising the quality of medical care and residency training for African American medical professionals.

During the time he served at Harlem Hospital, Wright also became the first African American surgeon employed by the New York City Police Department. In 1934, he became the first African American fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He was made chairman of the board for the NAACP in 1935 and an honorary fellow of the International College of Surgeons in 1950 and was awarded the American Cancer Society Medal in 1953. He published more than twenty-five scientific articles in the area of infectious diseases and more than one hundred total articles throughout his career.

Wright met his wife, Corrine M. Cooke, while in the U.S. Army. The couple had two daughters, Jane Cooke Wright and Barbara Wright Pierce, both of whom also became doctors. Wright died of tuberculosis in 1952 at the age of sixty-one.

Significance

Wright’s inquisitive scientific mind led him from work on venereal diseases through surgery and cancer research. His passion for providing excellent care was evident in all of his medical and social work. Wright never tolerated racial discrimination and proved that African American physicians could perform as well as doctors of any other race.

Bibliography

Hayden, Robert. Mr. Harlem Hospital: Dr. Louis T. Wright, a Biography. Littleton, Mass.: Tapestry Press, 2003. Biography outlining Wright’s major contributions to the medical field. Discusses his accomplishments in the context of being an African American physician during the early twentieth century.

Reynolds, Preston. “Dr. Louis T. Wright and the NAACP: Pioneers in Hospital Racial Integration.” American Journal of Public Health 90, no. 6 (June, 2000): 883-892. Comprehensive biography that puts Wright’s life in historical context. Thoroughly details Wright’s accomplishments with the NAACP.

Wright, Louis T. “The Schick Test, with Especial Reference to the Negro.” Journal of Infectious Diseases 21, no. 1 (July, 1917): 265-268. Wright’s scientific paper detailing how the test for diphtheria can be used in African American patients. This article brought Wright his first widespread recognition within the medical research field.