Edward E. Holloway

Edward Estis Holloway (June 12, 1908 – April 8, 1993) was a Philadelphia cardiologist who also served as the last elected city coroner.

Holloway was born in 1908 in Philadelphia, the son of Daniel Holloway and Margaret Estis Holloway.^[1] Daniel Holloway was a doctor, one of just a few African Americans practicing medicine at the time.^[2] As a boy, Holloway often accompanied his father as he made housecalls on horseback in Southwest Philadelphia.^[3] After graduating from Central High School and Howard University, the son followed his father into the medical profession.^[2] He interned at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., before returning to his hometown in 1937 and starting his own practice in North Philadelphia.^[2]

He married Mildred Brazington in 1938, but they divorced in the early 1940s.^[4] In 1944, he married again, to Ruth Smart, a social worker.^[5] Holloway quickly became recognized as one of the top men in his field; despite a lack of formal post-graduate training, he was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1946.^[3] In 1950, he became the second black doctor ever elected to the American College of Physicians.^[6] In 1955, he was the first ever elected to the American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases.^[2]

In 1953, Holloway married again, to Carmen Chisholm, with whom he later had two daughters, Michelle and Cheryl.^[7] That same year, he ran in the local election for Philadelphia city coroner as a Republican and won.^[8] He never took office, however, as the Democratic-majority City Council abolished several county offices, including coroner, and converted the jobs to civil service positions.^[9] Holloway and city treasurer Francis D. Pastorius filed suit to retain their offices, but were unsuccessful.^[9]

Meanwhile, Holloway's medical career progressed as he rose from an instructor at Women's Medical College to a clinical associate professor of medicine.^[3] He also gained a reputation as an engaging speaker at medical conferences.^[3] He served as the final chief of staff at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and the only chief of staff at its successor, Mercy-Douglass Hospital.^[2]

Holloway and his wife divorced in 1977.^[7] He married for the last time soon thereafter to Agatha Lawson.^[10] He continued to practice medicine until 1991, when he retired.^[3] Two years later, Holloway died at the age of 84 at Philadelphia's Graduate Hospital and was buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.^[2]