Charles Richard Drew M.D. D.Sc (1904 - 1950)

Born 3 Jun 1904 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Minnie Lenore (Robbins) Drew — married 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 1 Apr 1950 at age 45 in Burlington, Alamance, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

Charles Drew M.D. D.Sc is Notable.

Charles Drew M.D. D.Sc was awarded the Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by an African American.

Charles Richard Drew was an American physician, surgeon, and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. This allowed medics to save thousands of lives of the Allied forces.^[1]

Drew was born in 1904 into an African-American middle-class family in Washington, D.C. His father, Richard Drew, was a carpet layer and his mother, Nora Burrell, was a teacher.

He grew up in Arlington, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. He graduated from Washington's Dunbar High School in 1922. He graduated from Amherst College, briefly taught at Morgan State College, then graduated medical school from McGill as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. He worked as a surgeon at Freedman's Hospital at Howard. He returned to academia, graduating from Columbia University with a Doctor of Science in Medicine, the first African-American to do so, during which researched blood and plasma preservation techniques.

During the Second World War, he became the medical director for Blood for Britain and then the American Red Cross blood bank founding director in 1941.

In 1939, Drew married Minnie Lenore Robbins, a professor of home economics at Spelman College whom he had met earlier that year. They had three daughters and a son. His daughter Charlene Drew Jarvis was the president of Southeastern University from 1996 until 2009. Charles was described as six feet tall with hazel eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. ^[2]

Drew died at Alamance General Hospital in Burlington, North Carolina after an auto accident. Drew's death was not the result of his having been refused a blood transfusion because of his skin color. Drew's funeral was held on April 5, 1950, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

Numerous buildings and entities at medical and educational institutions have been named after him, including elementary schools in both Arlington, VA and Washington, DC. There is a full list at Wikipedia: Charles R. Drew

In 1981, the US Postal Service issued a 35-cent commemorative stamp in his honor.

Birth

Charles Richard Drew was born 3 June 1904 in Arlington, Virginia. ^{[3] [4]} His parents were Richard Drew and Norah Burrell. ^[5]

Death

Charles died 1 April 1950 in Burlington, Alamance, North Carolina. ^[6] He was buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Prince George's County, Maryland. ^[7]

Marriage

Charles was married in 1939 to Minnie L. Robbins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ^[8] She was listed as his next of kin on his draft card in 1942. ^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Charles R. Drew," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed February 9, 2018).
2. ↑ Selective Service System
3. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Health
4. ↑ Selective Service System
5. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Health
6. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Health
7. ↑ Find A Grave
8. ↑ Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Index
9. ↑ Selective Service System

• North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. North Carolina State Archives; Raleigh, North Carolina; North Carolina Death Certificates.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6622858 retrieved 8 February 2018
• "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Index, 1885–1951." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009. Philadelphia County Pennsylvania Clerk of the Orphans' Court. "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia marriage license index, 1885-1951." Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ancestry.com. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Marriage License Number: 710274.
• Draft Registration Cards for DC, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947. 261 boxes. NAI: 4693889. Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147. National Archives and Records Administration, St Louis, Missouri. Ancestry.com. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Draft Registration Cards for District of Columbia, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 064.
• Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T624_150; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 1374163.
• Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_206; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 51.
• United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Year: 1930; Census Place: Arlington, Arlington, Virginia; Roll: 2436; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0011; FHL microfilm: 2342170.

• Wikidata: Item Q1065848

• Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century, Oryx Press, 1996. Pages 71-74.

• 1922 Dunbar High School Athletics: "Newspapers.com"
  Evening star (Washington, District of Columbia) Sun, May 28, 1922, page 26
  Newspapers Clip: 141585778 (accessed 19 February 2024)
• 1950 Death: "Newspapers.com"
  The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) Sun, Apr 2, 1950, page 2
  Newspapers Clip: 141584862 (accessed 19 February 2024)