Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
(USAF, PANG, ret.) (April 4, 1922 – October 25, 2006) was an American
dermatologist
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
and cosmetic surgeon who practiced principally in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
for over 48 years. He pioneered surgical techniques for the treatment of
keloid
Keloid, also known as keloid disorder and keloidal scar,
is the formation of a type of scar which, depending on its maturity, is composed mainly of either type III (early) or type I (late) collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation t ...
s, laminar dermal reticulotomy,
hair transplants
Hair transplantation is a surgical technique that removes hair follicles from one part of the body, called the 'donor site', to a bald or balding part of the body known as the 'recipient site'. The technique is primarily used to treat male patt ...
dermabrasion
Dermabrasion is a type of surgical skin planing, generally with the goal of removing acne, scarring and other skin or tissue irregularities, typically performed in a professional medical setting by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon trained speci ...
in
people of color
The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
. He was called "The Father of Black Cosmetic Surgery."
Early life
Pierce was born on April 4, 1922, in Philadelphia to Mary Leora Bellinger Pierce and Harold Ernest Pierce, Sr. His mother was a classical pianist who played for
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...
. He is the oldest of two sons. Their mother died when young Harold was 7 years old and his grandparents, Lillian A. Willets and Warren Wood Pierce of
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', November 4, 2006. Accessed December 21, 2014. "He was born in the Art Museum area, and his mother died when he was 7. His father decided the best situation for his son was to be raised by his paternal grandparents in Bridgeton, N.J. He graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1939 and earned a bachelor's degree in science in 1943 from Lincoln University and a medical degree in 1946 from Howard University." While he was still young, Harold was estranged from his father, and as an adult, visited his father in Harlem. His Father had retired as a Laboratory Assistant from New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.
Advanced Study
After graduating from
Bridgeton High School
Bridgeton High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the city of Bridgeton, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Bridgeton Public S ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, Pierce received a B.S. degree from Lincoln University in 1942, and an MD from
Howard University College of Medicine
The Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) is an academic division of Howard University that grants the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Ph.D., M.S., and the M.PH. HUCM is located at the Howard University Health Sciences Center in Washington, D.C ...
in 1946. Pierce completed an internship at Harlem Hospital in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, a residency in dermatology at the Philadelphia General Hospital and Fellowship in
dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
's Graduate School of Medicine.
Family life
On November 22, 1945, Harold married Constance Ella Mason, a
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
and
teacher
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 ...
in the Philadelphia school system. They were married for 44 years until her death in 1989. Pierce had three children, and four grandchildren. His eldest daughter became an attorney while the other two followed in his footsteps and became
cosmetic surgeons
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...
and
dermatologists
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
. Dr. Pierce was the first of three generations to attend Howard University.
War Years
In 1951, as the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
peaked, Pierce accepted an assignment as the Chief of Dermatology at the 1600 USAF Hospital at
Westover Air Force Base Westover may refer to:
People
* Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia
* Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian
* Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, ...
in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. In 1954, he became a General Medical Officer with the 111th Fighter Bomber. After many distinguished years, he resigned from the Air Force National GuardJet /ref> in 1976 and was promoted in 1987 on the Retired list to the rank of Brigadier General. He is the second
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to be given this ranking.
Pierce was active in the Civil Rights Movement, and even active as a child in the 1930s through his dissemination of Black Newspapers pushing for an end to the terrorizing
lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
s of African Americans and their supporters that plagued
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
throughout the first half of the 20th century.
Author
Pierce is the editor of the book ''Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Nonwhite Patients'', Grune & Stratton (New York, 1982). He taught for 17 years as an assistant professor of dermatology at Howard University.
Death
Pierce died at the age of 84 in Philadelphia from complications from
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
. He worked daily as a doctor until the age of 83. Over five hundred people attended his funeral.