Dr. Charles DeWitt Watts | |
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Born | September 21, 1917 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | July 12, 2004 Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | (aged 86)
Resting place | Beechwood Cemetery, Fayetteville Street, Durham 35°57′32″N 78°54′47″W / 35.959°N 78.913°W |
Alma mater | Morehouse College Howard University College of Medicine |
Occupation | Surgeon |
Years active | 1948–1975 (as a surgeon) |
Notable work | Lincoln Community Health Center |
Spouse | Constance Merrick Watts (1945–2004; his death) |
Children | 4 |
Charles DeWitt Watts (September 21, 1917 – July 12, 2004) was an African-American surgeon and activist for the poor. Watts was the first surgeon of African-American ancestry in North Carolina. Earning his medical degree in 1943 from Howard University College, he was the first African-American board-certified surgeon to serve in North Carolina. After surgical training at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., in 1949, he moved to Durham, North Carolina, in 1950 and established a clinic to provide access to medical services for the poor. Breaking the social customs of racial obstacles, he advocated for certification of African-American medical students. He also became a member of many professional colleges including the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine and the American College of Surgeons.[1][2] He served as chief of surgery at Durham's Lincoln Hospital and was later one of the key figures in converting it to the Lincoln Community Health Center, a low-priced clinic for the poor.