George Augustus Weaver (November, 1871 - January 20, 1939) was a physician,

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. His contributions to the education of black students led to a library being named in his honor in Tuscaloosa. George Weaver was born in 1872, the son of Lawrence and Lucy Elizabeth Weaver of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Lawrence Weaver was a blacksmith, businessman and landowner as well as a trustee for the

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

of Tuscaloosa. He was the father of six children and sent all of them to college. George Augustus Weaver was his oldest child and graduated from Talladega College in 1892. George Weaver was the principal of a school for black students in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

for one year and then attended Howard University. He graduated from Howard University with a medical degree in 1899 and interned at Johns Hopkins Hospital in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Weaver returned to Tuscaloosa in 1900 and was a surgeon at Stillman Hospital, located on the campus of Stillman College. Dr. Weaver was most active in church, civic and fraternal affairs. His Fraternal affairs includes: Charter Member, 1st Worshipful Master, of Rescue Lodge #234, F & AM PHA in 1905, and Grand Senior Warden of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F & AM State of Alabama in 1906-07. He was a trustee and deacon of the First African Baptist Church. During this time he made his personal library available for black students to use in their studies. In 1960 Mrs. Ruth Bolden, the first librarian for what is now the Weaver-Bolden Library Branch (part of the

Tuscaloosa Public Library The Tuscaloosa Public Library is a city/county agency in the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, serving a population of over 184,035 in Tuscaloosa County in the state of Alabama, United States. The library has 58,037 registered patrons that ...

system), requested that the library be named for Dr. Weaver to honor his contributions to young people and his generosity with his own books to the students of the area.

References

* Bailey, Kathy. ''Dr. George Augustus Weaver''. Tuscaloosa, AL: Tuscaloosa Public Library, 2004. * George A. Weaver, 1900 Twelfth Census of the United States, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Precinct 16. * George Augustus Weaver, Alabama Death Certificate, January 20, 1939. * Kampis, Johnny. "Ruth Bolden--Pioneer", ''The Tuscaloosa News''. Tuscaloosa, AL: May 15, 2004. * Kelly, Renaldo, Historian, Rescue Lodge #234, F & AM PHA

External links

Stillman College

Tuscaloosa Public Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, George 1870s births 1939 deaths People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Physicians from Alabama Howard University alumni African-American physicians American surgeons African-American educators American educators 20th-century African-American people