Miles Dewey Davis Jr. (March 1, 1898 – May 21, 1962) was an American dentist and father of jazz trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Biography

Davis was born on March 1, 1898, in Noble Lake, Arkansas. He was a son of Miles Dewey Davis Sr. and Mary (Luster) Davis. He was educated at the Arkansas State Normal School (now

University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University of ...

) in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combin ...

and received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree at

Arkansas Baptist College Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a private Baptist-affiliated historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is th ...

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in 1919. His studies continued at Lincoln University in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

. In 1924, Davis graduated from

Northwestern University Dental School The Northwestern University Dental School closed in 2001, 110 years after opening in 1891. Its first dean was Edgar Swain. According to the trustees, the mentioned financial stresses and reputation as reasons for the closure of the program. Histo ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and began his practice the same year. He was a member of the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity and 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 ...

. On June 16, 1924, he married Cloots Mae (or Cleota) Henry. This union produced three children: *Dorothy Mae Davis (Mrs. Vincent Wilburn), born May 10, 1925 – July 5, 1996 * Miles Dewey Davis III, May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991 *Vernon Napoleon Davis, November 3, 1929 – December 15, 1999 Davis moved the family to

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

, Illinois and then to

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, Illinois, where he served as State Educational Director of the Elks Club. Very active socially and politically, he was also a member of the Masons,

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, American Woodsmen, and the

N.A.A.C.P. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...

At one time, Davis made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Illinois State Legislature.

Later years

In 1946, after his first marriage ended, Davis married his second wife, Josephine, who was an assistant principal. This union produced a son, Joseph, who was born in 1959. In the late 1940s, Davis purchased a estate in

Millstadt, Illinois Millstadt is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, located at the crossing of Illinois Routes 163 (locally, "Jefferson Avenue") and 158 (locally, "Washington Avenue"). The village is known for its German heritage, with more tha ...

. He began raising imported Landrace hogs, the first African American to do so. Although he began breeding hogs as a hobby, he would raise over 300 on his estate at a time. He would sell between $14,000 and $21,000 worth of swine at a single auction. His hogs would also win numerous awards at state fairs in Missouri and Illinois.

Tennessee A&I Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

(now

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

) president Walter S. Davis (no relation) initiated a program to encourage farmers to raise the superior quality Landrace hogs. He purchased his stock for the program from Miles Davis, who imported his strain from Sir Winston Churchill's farm in England. In 1962, Davis died in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

following a stroke.

References

*Yenser, Thomas (editor), ''Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America'', Who's Who in Colored America, Brooklyn, New York, 1930-1931-1932 (Third Edition) 1910 (Thirteenth Census of US)Richland (NE of St Louis) dated 4-29-1910 {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Miles Henry African-American dentists American dentists People from East St. Louis, Illinois People from Jefferson County, Arkansas University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff alumni Northwestern University Dental School alumni 1898 births 1962 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Missouri People from Alton, Illinois People from Millstadt, Illinois Arkansas Baptist College alumni 20th-century dentists 20th-century African-American people