William Augustus Hinton

William Augustus Hinton (15 December 1883, Chicago, Illinois – 1959, Canton, Massachusetts) was an American bacteriologist, pathologist and educator. He was the first black professor in the history of Harvard University. A pioneer in the field of public health, Hinton developed a test for syphilis which, because of its accuracy, was used by the United States Public Health Service.

Early life and education

William Augustus Hinton was born in Chicago to Augustus Hinton and Maria Clark, both former slaves. Hinton grew up in Kansas. After high school, he studied at the University of Kansas before transferring to Harvard University, where he earned a B.S. degree in 1905. Following his graduation, he taught in Tennessee and Oklahoma. During the summers he continued his studies in bacteriology and physiology at the University of Chicago. In 1909, he enrolled in Harvard Medical School. With the aid of two prestigious scholarships he was able to graduate with honors in 1912.^[1]

Early career

Hinton returned to Harvard Medical School in 1918 as an instructor in preventive medicine and hygiene. In 1921 he began teaching bacteriology and immunology—subjects he would teach at Harvard for over thirty years.

International recognition

Hinton became internationally known as an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis. His serological test for syphilis, which proved to be more accurate than currently accepted tests, was endorsed by the U.S. Public Health Service in 1934. Hinton's test also was simple, quick, and unambiguous.

In 1936 Hinton published the first medical textbook by a black American: Syphilis and Its Treatment.

Hinton turned down the NAACP's 1938 Spingarn Medal award because he wanted his work to stand on its own merit; he was concerned that his work would not be as well received if it was widely known in his profession that he was black. "Race should never get mixed up in the struggle for human welfare," he would later say.^[2]

In 1948, in recognition of his contributions as a serologist and public health bacteriologist, Hinton was elected a life member of the American Social Science Association. The serology lab at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Laboratory Institute Building was named for him.^[3]

Later career

Although Hinton retired from Harvard in 1950, he continued to teach there for several years and served as a physician at the Mass Hospital School for Crippled Children in Canton, Massachusetts. Until 1953, he served as physician-in-chief of the Department of Clinical Laboratories of the Boston Dispensary. Also, he served as a special consultant to the U.S. Public Health Service.

References

1. PBS "Partners of the Heart", African-American Medical Pioneers: William Augustus Hinton
2. "Race brought rejection of Hinton syphilis test", Ebony magazine, October 1955, p. 68.
3. Citizen's Guide to State Services: Laboratory Sciences Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Further reading

• Brown, Mitchell, Faces of Science: African-American in the Science 1996.
• "Hinton, William Augustus", Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography. January 21, 2001.
• Kessler, J., Kidd, J. Kidd R. & Morin, K. (1996). Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. pp. 171-174.