August Nathaniel Lushington (born August 1, 1869 - 1939) became the first

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 earn a

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, commonly referred to as Penn Vet was founded in 1884. It has two campuses; the main campus is located in Philadelphia, and a second campus is located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. A ...

in 1897. He practiced about two years in Philadelphia and worked as an instructor in Veterinary Sanitation and Hygiene at Bell Mead Industrial and Agricultural College at Rock Castle, West Virginia. Later, he practiced for much of his career in segregated

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

. He had memberships in the statistical reporter to the

Bureau of Animal Industry President Chester A. Arthur signed the Animal Industry Act23 STAT 31 on May 29, 1884 creating the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an organization that was established under the United States Department of Agriculture. It replaced the Veterinary Di ...

, the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

, and the Lychburg

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

College education

His college education started when he married his wife Elizabeth Hubert from

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

. Her west

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n friends helped Augustus enroll in

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

to study Agriculture. He graduated with a degree in Agriculture in 1894. Since there was no work for him at the time he left the West Indies, he migrated to the United States. He graduated in three years from 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 ...

veterinary school. He was the only African American to graduate from the university. His portrait hangs at the main entrance of the Rosenthal building.

References

External links

Augustus Nathaniel Lushington: Veterinarian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lushington, Augustus Nathaniel 1869 births American veterinarians American people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni 1939 deaths University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine alumni Emigrants from the British West Indies to the United States