It's no secret that I have a problem with gossip blogs or perhaps more specifically our nation's inane fixation/fascination with celebrity culture. You can peruse any gossip blog and one can see literally hundreds of responses or comments devoted to pablum. Even in this blog as I have mentioned on a few occasions, the more salacious the story the more responses-the more historically significant....well you can hear a pin drop. Let's see if the following story generates any interest. Next up, Dr. William Augustus Hinton, inventor of the self-named Hinton syphilis test. Pay close attention to this gentleman's story which demonstrates modesty, perseverance and fortitude. And yet more from the historical record that clearly debunks any notions of alleged racial inferiority. It's time to rise folks-we can do better.....Dr. Hinton has shown us that we have achieved with greater impediments. Come on, People!-shout out to the inimitable Dr. Cliff Huxtable. Check out an excerpt from the Hinton article, thanks to the Boston Globe:
When Dr. William Augustus Hinton developed his test for syphilis in 1927, the disease was on the rise in the United States. Much like AIDS in the 1980s, it was a scourge to be feared, sometimes resulting in blindness, heart disease, paralysis, and madness. Poor, black communities were struck particularly hard.
The Hinton test was more accurate and less expensive than its predecessors, and it spared untold numbers from long, painful, and risky courses of treatment. The test was endorsed by the US Public Health Service and adopted by hospitals around the country. Yet Hinton kept a low profile, refusing an award on at least one occasion and opting not to attend meetings of the American Microbiological Association, of which he was a member.
"He didn't want notoriety," said his grandson, Charles Jones. A modest man, Hinton was black, and he feared that his peers would take his work less seriously if they knew.
Forty-eight years after Hinton's death, the Boston History & Innovation Collaborative will honor Hinton's contributions to healthcare during its eighth annual History & Innovation Awards at the InterContinental Boston hotel on Nov. 13. With the award, the Collaborative hopes to introduce Hinton's work to the many Bostonians who have never heard of him.
"Hinton is not really included when people talk about Boston's medical innovators," Robert Krim, executive director of the Collaborative, said. "But he's a towering figure when you look back, especially in light of racism in the 1920s."
For more of the Hinton article, click on the link below:
Overdue kudos for medical innovator
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