Edwin Caldwell facts for kids
Edwin Caldwell (born August 12, 1867, died 1932) was an American doctor. He helped many people in North Carolina in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Dr. Caldwell is known for finding one of the first good ways to treat a disease called pellagra.
Early Life and Education
Edwin Caldwell was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His parents, Wilson Caldwell and Susan Kirby, had been slaves. His grandfather, November Caldwell, was also a slave who worked for Joseph Caldwell. Joseph Caldwell was the first president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Edwin's father and grandfather worked at the university as "college servants," which meant they were slaves who did unpaid work.
When Edwin was a boy, he helped clean chemistry labs at the university. His father worked there as a janitor after slavery ended. People said Edwin was very smart, and the university students liked him a lot. He went to a free public school in North Carolina. He also got private lessons from university students. One of these students was Locke Craig, who later became the Governor of North Carolina.
Becoming a Doctor
Edwin Caldwell went to Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, starting in 1887. He studied at Shaw's Leonard Medical School and finished his studies in 1890 or 1891. After that, he began to practice medicine.
He first worked as a doctor in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, in 1892, he moved to Osceola, Arkansas. He passed the medical test there and started his own practice. Dr. Caldwell worked in Osceola, Arkansas, for 17 years. He became a member of important medical groups, like the American Association of Progressive Medicine.
Family Life
Later, Dr. Caldwell moved back to Durham, North Carolina. In 1918, he married Minnie Stroud Caldwell. Minnie was the widow of his late brother. Edwin moved in to help care for her children, and they decided to marry. They had one child together, a daughter named Julia Elizabeth Caldwell.
Treating Pellagra
Dr. Caldwell became an expert on pellagra. This disease is caused when someone doesn't get enough niacin, which is a type of vitamin.
According to civil rights lawyer and author Pauli Murray, Dr. Caldwell successfully treated her grandmother for pellagra. Pauli Murray wrote about this in her book, Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family. Dr. Caldwell also treated white patients in North Carolina. However, because of the rules of the time, white people often did not openly say they were treated by a Black doctor.
Edwin Caldwell passed away in 1932. He is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
