A. W. Dumas (1876-1945) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and co-founder of the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association. He also served as president of the

National Medical Association The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA is a 501(c)(3) national professional and scientific organization repr ...

Biography

Born Albert Woods Dumas in

Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,58 ...

on September 9, 1876, he was the son of John Sumpter Dumas, a carpenter and sugar boiler, and his wife, Susanna. In 1899, he graduated from the Illinois College of Medicine and settled in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

. At the start of the 20th century, Dumas was one of the few African American physicians in Mississippi and established a medical practice in

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

in the late 1890s. In 1900, he along with Dr. L. T. Miller and several other doctors co-founded the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association, the state's largest and oldest organization representing African American health professionals. He started the Dumas Infirmary in Natchez to service his patients. It was one of the few private facilities at the time that would accept blacks for treatment. In 1941, he was elected President of the

. He died on October 1, 1945.

References

1876 births Physicians from Mississippi People from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana People from Natchez, Mississippi African-American physicians 1945 deaths 20th-century African-American people {{US-physician-stub