Augustus A. White III was born on June 4, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee. His father was a physician and his mother was a librarian and high school teacher. He attended high school at the Mount Hermon School for Boys prep school (now Northfield Mount Hermon) in Massachusetts. He then graduated from Brown University in 1957. While at Brown he became the first African American to become a fraternity brother when he rushed Delta Upsilon fraternity. He went on to be the first African American to graduate from Stanford Medical School in 1961 and the first surgical resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1963. He is a Vietnam Veteran serving for 2 years as an army surgeon. He was stationed at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in the Qui Nhon region of Vietnam during August 1966 – August 1967. During that year he also volunteered during his off-duty time at the St. Francis Leprosarium run by Catholic nuns in a nearby village where he treated patients fighting leprosy. After his army service he received his PhD in orthopedic biomechanics from the Karolinska Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden where he also met and married his wife Anita.
He has had a long and distinguished career including full Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Yale Medical School, chief of the orthopedic surgery department at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and Director of the Harvard Medical School among many other positions. He has written over 200 scientific and clinical publications including books, chapters and articles on the biomechanics of the spine, fracture healing, and surgical and non-surgical care of the spine.
White has also been keenly interested in issues of bias, prejudice, and disparities in medical care and education. While a member of the Board of Fellows (1981-1992) at Brown University he lead an effort of improve race relationships at Brown which culminated with the report
He and his wife Anita have three daughters including Atina White, Brown Class of 1998.
Article: "The Doctor of Prejudice" written by Beth Schwartzapfel, published in the Brown Alumni Bulletin.: 2011 September/October
This article is a biography of Augustus A. White III and his groundbreaking career as an African American orthopedic surgeon. It also highlights his work to combat the biases and poor cross-cultural communication in health care and medical education that result in disparities of care for minorities, women, homosexuals, the elderly and the obese.
This article relates White's experience and his impressions during and after his visit to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
This article is a memoir of Dr. White's experiences as an army surgeon in Vietnam during the war from August 1966 to August 1967. He was assigned to the 85th Evacuation Hospital in the Qui Nhon region of Vietnam. He relates the long hours in the operating room, his feelings about the war and the army system, and negotiating relationships with his white colleagues as an African American surgeon. During his off-duty hours he traveled to a nearby village to treat the patients at the St. Francis leprosarium run by Catholic nuns from Europe and Vietnam.
Article: "The View from the O.R." written by Cathy Shufro, published in Brown Alumni Bulletin, May/June 2007 issue.: 2007 May/June
This article profiles 2 military surgeons and tells of their experiences. Chris Coppola '90 served in Iraq during 2005 and Augustus A. White III '57 served in Vietnam during 1966-1967. Chris Coppola treated US military soldiers and Iraqi civilians including children injured during the fighting. Augustus A. White treated US military soldiers, Vietnamese soldiers and also assisted at the St. Francis Leprosarium hospital in a nearby village during his off-duty time. White also talks about the racism that he faced as an African American man in the military.
This biography provides comprehensive information about the career of Augustus A. White III and his many positions, publications, awards, honors and accomplishments.
Correspondence: John A. Feagin to Augustus White: 2016 March 17
A letter from John Feagin in which he provides a brief essay he titled "Memories of Gus: Race, War and Combat Surgery." Feagin and White served together at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, Vietnam. Feagin describes the work they did and how race was a factor for other members of the hospital staff in their interactions with Gus White.
Dr. Augustus A. White III served as an army surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in the Qui Nhon region of Vietnam from August 1966-August 1967. During his year in Vietnam he also volunteered at the St. Francis Leprosarium run by Catholic nuns in Vietnam during his off-duty hours treating local Vietnamese leprosy patients. This photograph of White with 5 of the nuns was taken during his last visit to the leprosy hospital.
Dr. Augustus A. White III served as an army surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in the Qui Nhon region of Vietnam from August 1966-August 1967. During his year in Vietnam he also volunteered at the St. Francis Leprosarium run by Catholic nuns in Vietnam during his off-duty hours treating local Vietnamese leprosy patients. This photograph shows White treating a patient with assistance from a Vietnamese nurse.
Dr. Augustus A. White III served as an army surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in the Qui Nhon region of Vietnam from August 1966-August 1967. This photograph is a portrait of White wearing his sunglasses and hat standing next to a wooden building.
This collection contains articles by and about Augustus A. White III relating to his career as an orthopedic surgeon. The 2 articles written by him focus on his service as an army surgeon in Vietnam during the war and his reflections on that service and the meaning of the war. The 3 photographs included in the collection are from his time in Vietnam. The other 2 articles were written about Augustus White for the Brown Alumni Bulletin. They also provide information about his Vietnam War experiences. They also highlight his work to combat the prejudices inherent in health care and medical education.
Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Brown University Library. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Augustus A. White III (Class of 1957) documents relating to his career as a surgeon during the Vietnam War, AMS.1U.2016.002, Brown University Library.
This small collection is arranged alphabetically.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Documentation gathered by Prof. Beth Taylor from internet sources during 2016 as part of the Vietnam Veterans Archive at Brown University.
Part of the Vietnam Veterans Archive (Brown University).