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Top 10 Remarkable Facts about William Augustus Hinton

Born in 1883 to former slaves, William Augustus Hinton was a renowned American bacteriologist, pathologist, public health specialist and educator. He was the first Black professor in the history of Harvard University and earned an international reputation as a medical researcher with his work on the detection and treatment of syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Hinton was an academic giant. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Harvard in 1905. After teaching for several years, he entered Harvard Medical School, competing for and winning prestigious scholarships. In 1912 he earned his MD with honors.

1. He Excelled At A Time When African Americans Had To Fight For Non-Existent Opportunities

Reading Room, Langdell Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts. Author John Phelan.

He lived at a time when being an African American was considered to be a sin and they faced a lot of racism and persecution. William Hinton overcame poverty and racial prejudice in the medical profession to excel in whatever he laid his hands on. He is most remembered for creating a highly respected test for syphilis detection in the 1920s. His test greatly improved screening for the disease, reducing the number of false positives generated by previous tests that resulted in needless treatment. An excellent teacher as well, Hinton also became the first black to be named a professor at Harvard University Medical School.

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2. He Is Known To Be The First Black Person To Write A Medical Textbook

Textbooks. Photo by Alexander Grey on

Armed with all the acquired knowledge and experience in research, Hinton disseminated his knowledge in a textbook on syphilis diagnosis and treatment that became a classic in medical literature. With this milestone he became the first black person to write a medical textbook in the U.S.; his Syphilis and its Treatment was published in 1936.

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3. He Was Also The First African American To Be Promoted To The Rank Of Professor At HMS And At Harvard University

He was respected as an accomplished academician. In 1949, more than 30 years after joining the faculty and only a year before he retired, Hinton was honored with the distinguish position of becoming the first African American to be promoted to the rank of professor at HMS and at Harvard University. This was initially a preserve of a few whites. He was named Clinical Professor of Bacteriology and Immunology. Now, more than a century after he graduated from HMS, Hinton and his accomplishments have been acknowledged with a formal unveiling of his portrait in Gordon Hall鈥檚 Waterhouse Room.

4. He Has Inspired Many Due To His Ability To Overcome Challenges

He has inspired many due to his ability to overcome challenges and the outstanding credentials he had. As stated earlier, because of racial prejudice Hinton was barred from pursuing a career in surgery at Boston-area hospitals. Not easily deterred, he instead took a job teaching serological techniques at what was then Harvard鈥檚 Wassermann Laboratory, also working part-time as a volunteer assistant in the Department of Pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. His task: to perform autopsies on all persons suspected of having died from syphilis. Hinton accepted the assignment鈥攁nd proceeded to change the course of medicine. He became an expert on the disease and created a new blood test for diagnosing syphilis that was adopted by the U.S. Public Health Service.

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5. He Preferred To Compete And Succeed Academically On An Equal Footing With Harvard鈥檚 White Students

He is remembered as a dedicated scientist who believed in his principles. In one notable incident that is always quoted, he declined the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1938 because he wanted to be rewarded for the quality of his work, not his race. He was also concerned that his productivity as a researcher would be compromised if his colleagues knew he was black. It is believed that Hinton could have had a very successful private practice, but he chose to serve in the field of public health.  He is definitely a man to be emulated.

6. He Was The First Black Scientist To Become A Member Of The American Society For Microbiology

The son of former slaves freed after the Civil War, his achievements paid off when in 1921 Hinton became the first Black scientist to become a member of the American Society for microbiology. Six years later in 1927 he created a flocculation test for syphilis. He also developed another syphilis test with a colleague known as the Davies-Hinton test that was considered a medical breakthrough at the time.

7. He Was Credited With Establishment Of The First Schools For Training Medical Technicians In the United States

Boston Dispensary Building. Author Swampyank.

He liked to share his knowledge and skills with others. It was while working at the Boston Dispensary where Hinton established one of the first schools for training medical technicians in the United States. Instilling high standards and leadership has enabled the Wassermann Laboratory become the standard for other laboratories to emulate. In recognition of Hinton鈥檚 skills, Harvard Medical School made him an assistant in preventive medicine and hygiene in 1923. The next year Hinton was promoted to instructor in that subject, as well in bacteriology and immunology.

8. He Used His Savings To Establish A Scholarship Fund

He was not mean person. When he realized that he could not continue working, Hinton willed his $75,000 in savings to be put into a special scholarship fund for Harvard graduate students. While donating this fund, he reiterated that the fund was a memorial to his parents and the exemplary ideals of conduct that they passed on to him. He named the fund the Dwight D. Eisenhower Scholarship Fund, to honor the president whom he felt had made great strides in providing equal opportunity employment during his administration. When referring to the scholarship in his book, Mandate for Change, Eisenhower wrote, 鈥淚 could not recall having been given a personal distinction that had touched me more deeply.鈥�

9. He Was Honored By The United States Public Health Service

Harvard Medical School. Author The original uploader was JosephBarillari at English Wikipedia.

He was honored for his exemplary work in the field of bacteriology and research by the United States Public Health Service. In 1975, the Massachusetts legislature made what had become known as the “Hinton Laboratory” in the scientific community official, passing a bill to rename the state laboratory the “Dr. William A. Hinton Laboratory.” In addition to this, in 2019 Hinton’s portrait was placed in Harvard Medical School’s Waterhouse Room, a room previously dominated by the portraits of former Harvard Medical School Deans, all of whom were white.

10. The American Social Hygiene Association Referred To Him As A 鈥淒istinguished Scientist, Leading Serologist, And Public Health Bacteriologist.鈥�

Despite losing a leg in a car accident in 1940, Hinton continued his teaching and testing endeavors almost without letup. He was named a lifetime member of the American Social Hygiene Association in 1948 as a 鈥渄istinguished scientist, leading serologist, and public health bacteriologist.鈥�