Solomon Carter Fuller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Solomon Carter Fuller
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Solomon Carter Fuller (c. 1910)
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| Born | August 11, 1872 |
| Died | January 16, 1953 (aged 80) Framingham, Massachusetts
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Boston University School of Medicine (M.D., 1897) |
| Occupation | physician, psychiatrist, pathologist, professor |
| Known for | work in the field of Alzheimer's disease |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Solomon C. Fuller Anna Ursala James |
Solomon Carter Fuller (born August 1, 1872 – died January 16, 1953) was an important Liberian-American doctor. He was a neurologist (brain doctor), a psychiatrist (mental health doctor), and a pathologist (disease expert). He also taught at a university.
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Solomon Fuller moved to the United States to study. He earned his medical degree there. He then traveled to Munich, Germany to learn more about mental health. After his studies, he returned to the U.S. and spent most of his career at Westborough State Hospital in Westborough, Massachusetts.
In 1919, Dr. Fuller joined the team at Boston University School of Medicine. He taught about diseases there. He made big discoveries about Alzheimer's disease during his career. Besides his hospital work, he also had his own private practice where he helped patients.
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Early Life and Education
Solomon Fuller was born in Monrovia, Liberia. His parents were Americo-Liberian, meaning they were African Americans who had moved to Liberia. His father, Solomon, grew coffee and worked for the Liberian government. His mother, Anna Ursala James, came from a family of doctors who were also missionaries.
Fuller's grandparents on his father's side, John Lewis Fuller and his wife, were once enslaved in Virginia. John Fuller bought freedom for himself and his wife. They then moved to Norfolk, Virginia. In 1852, they sailed to Liberia. This country was set up in West Africa by the American Colonization Society for African Americans and freed slaves. They helped build this new nation.
Solomon's mother started a school to teach him and other children in their area. Fuller also went to the College Preparatory School in Monrovia.
He was very interested in medicine because his grandparents were medical missionaries. Fuller moved to the United States to study at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. He finished there in 1893. He later attended Long Island College Medical School.
In 1897, he earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. This school was open to students of all races and genders. He continued his studies at the Royal Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Munich in Germany. There, he worked with famous doctors like Emil Kraepelin and Alois Alzheimer.
Career and Discoveries
Dr. Fuller spent most of his career as a brain disease expert at Westborough State Hospital in Massachusetts. He first did a two-year internship there. Then, Dr. Alois Alzheimer chose him to do new research in Germany.
While in Germany, Dr. Fuller did important research on the physical changes that happen in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. About a year later, he returned to Westborough State Hospital. He brought his new knowledge with him. He also started and edited the Westborough State Hospital Papers, a journal that shared local research findings.
He worked closely with Alois Alzheimer. Dr. Alzheimer was the first to describe a case of early-onset dementia. Dr. Fuller noticed that certain clumps in the brain, called amyloid plaques, and twisted fibers, called neurofibrillary tangles, might be important signs of Alzheimer's disease. At the time, many thought hardening of the arteries was the main cause.
In 1909, Dr. Fuller spoke at a big conference at Clark University. Many famous scientists and thinkers were there. These included Franz Boas, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and William James.
Dr. Fuller's most important writings about Alzheimer's disease came out in 1912. These two articles were the first English translation of the first Alzheimer's case. For many years, some of Fuller's discoveries were not widely known. But his findings still help guide research today.
In 1919, Dr. Fuller left Westborough State Hospital. He joined the teaching staff at Boston University School of Medicine. He was an associate professor until 1933. He left teaching because he saw that Black professors were not paid or promoted fairly. Even after leaving, he was given the title of Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Boston University. He continued to work as a private doctor, helping people with brain and mental health issues for many more years.
After World War I, the Veterans Administration opened the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Center. This hospital had an all-Black staff. Dr. Fuller played a key role in finding and training Black psychiatrists for important jobs there.
Personal Life
For most of his life, Dr. Fuller lived in Framingham, Massachusetts. He lived with his wife, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, who was a famous sculptor. They had three children.
In 1944, Dr. Fuller lost his eyesight. This meant he could no longer practice medicine. He passed away in 1953, at 81 years old. He died from advanced diabetes and gastrointestinal cancer.
Legacy and Honors
Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller left a lasting impact.
- The Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center in Boston is named after him. It is part of the Boston Medical Center.
- In the early 1970s, the American Psychiatric Association started a special lecture series in his honor. It is called the Solomon Carter Fuller Award lecture.
- Fuller Middle School in Framingham, Massachusetts, is named after him and his wife. The school's history explains:
The Fuller Middle School was established in September of 1994. The school is named in honor of Dr. Solomon Fuller, a psychiatrist, and his wife Meta Fuller, a sculptor. The Fullers, a pioneering African-American family, lived on Warren Road near the current location of the Fuller Middle School during the early part of the twentieth century. Dr. and Mrs. Fuller were leaders in their professions and in the Framingham Community during their lives. The roles they played during their lifetimes serve as models for the students of the school named in their memory.
- Dr. Solomon Fuller Way, a road at the site of the old Westborough State Hospital, is also named for him.
Works by Solomon C. Fuller
- with Henry I. Klopp, "Further Observations on Alzheimer's Disease," American Journal of Insanity 69 (1912): 26, 27.
- "Anatomic Findings of General Paresis and Multiple Sclerosis in the Same Case." Boston Soc. of Neurology and Psychiatry. Arch. Neurol. and Psychiat 5 (1921): 757-1921.
