Full Name
Dr. Charles Richard Drew
Date of Birth
June 3, 1904
Date of Death
April 1, 1950
Place of Birth
Washington, D.C., United States
Place of Death
Near Burlington, North Carolina, United States
Education
- Amherst College (graduated 1926)
- McGill University, Montreal (1933)
- Columbia University (1940)
Spouse’s Name
- Minnie Lenore Robbins (m. 1939)
Known Affiliates Names
- Freedmen’s Hospital (surgeon and professor of medicine)
- Howard University (surgeon and professor of medicine)
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
- Freedmen’s Hospital (surgeon and professor of medicine)
- Howard University (surgeon and professor of medicine)
Major Events
- World War II (directed blood plasma programs for the United States and Great Britain)
Brief Biography
Charles Richard Drew, born on June 3, 1904, in Washington, D.C., was an African American physician and surgeon who was an authority on the preservation of human blood for transfusion. He developed efficient ways to process and store large quantities of blood plasma, and during World War II, he organized and directed the blood-plasma programs of the United States and Great Britain. Drew resigned from his official posts in 1942 after the armed forces ruled that the blood of African Americans should be excluded from plasma donations. He then became a surgeon and professor of medicine at Freedmen’s Hospital and Howard University. Drew passed away on April 1, 1950, near Burlington, North Carolina, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident[1][2][3][4][5].
Citations: [1] https://www.biography.com/scientists/charles-drew [2] https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html [3] https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/bg/feature/biographical-overview [4] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Richard-Drew [5] https://www.cdrewu.edu/about-dr-charles-r-drew/