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Eugene Dibble

Eugene H. Dibble Jr.
Born	1893 Camden, South Carolina
Died	June 1, 1968
Medical career
Profession	Medical Director
Institutions	Tuskegee Institute

Early Life

Eugene Dibble was born in Camden, South Carolina in 1893. In 1915, he received his A.B. degree from Atlanta University and in 1919 he received his M.D. from Howard University. He then went on to work at an internship at the Freedmen's Hospital in Washington D.C.

Medical Career

After his internship at the Freedmen's Hospital, Dibble went the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for his surgical residency. His residency at the Memorial Hospital led to his promotion to assistant medical director. In 1923 he became surgeon-in-chief at the Veterans Administration Hospital at Tuskegee. Dibble returned to the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital in 1925 and became its medical director. He returned to the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1936 in order to reorganize it as its manager and medical director. During World War II all managers of Veterans Administration hospitals were given the rank of Colonel. This made Dibble the first African American medical officer to be commissioned at this rank. During his time at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Dibble established a postgraduate training program for the hospital. Dibble was discharged from the Army Medical Corps on June 16, 1946. After 10 years at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Dibble resigned from the Veterans Administration Hospital on July 3, 1946, and once again became the medical director of the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital. He worked at Tuskegee for a total of 45 years before retiring. During his time at the Tuskegee Institute, Dibble became involved in the John A. Andrew Clinical Society and had a large influence over its meetings as its secretary, a position which he held from 1924-26 and again from 1946-65. He transformed the meetings into medical discussions for which he would travel across the country to invite notable speakers. Dibble was involved in the Society's first postgraduate course in 1921 and influenced the Society's shift to a focus on informing physicians about new techniques in 1949. Dibble resigned from the Clinical Society in 1965. Dibble was also involved with the Baptist World Alliance in the 1950s and 60s. With the Alliance, he made many international trips in order to provide care to underdeveloped areas and aid students that wished to study in the United States.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The most controversial part of Dr. Dibble's medical career was the Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Male Negro in 1932 which was later classified as ethically unjustified by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1972. The study was created by the U.S. Public Health Service and consisted of 400 men with untreated syphilis and 200 uninfected men that were used as controls for comparison and lasted for 40 years. The study was only stopped after being decounced in 1972. The study's premise was made under the assumption that African Americans would not naturally seek treatment for Syphilis and that the disease affected them differently than other races. In addition to these assumptions, the study did not show any intention of treating the subjects that were infected. The study used the subjects' trust in Dr. Dibble in order to deceive the patients with ineffective medicines while their symptoms were being monitored. Not only did the patients receive ineffective treatments but were denied access to treatment when penicillin became a widespread treatment option for syphilis in the 1950s.

Personal Life

Eugene Dibble was married to Helen Taylor Dibble. He had five children and his son Robert went on to become a physician.

Post-Retirement

After retirement, Dibble maintained an office in order to work with free clinics and teach young doctors and nurses. Dibble's interest in mortality rates for mothers and children led him to work with maternity clinics so that they may better diagnose maternity problems.

Achievements and Accolades

During Dibble's administration at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1936 and Eleanor Roosevelt visited in both 1939 and 1941. In 1956, Dibble was elected an honorary member of Alpha Omega Alpha, a society which recognizes excellence in the profession of medicine. In 1957, he was given a distinguished service medal by Howard University. Dibble was a member of the board of trustees at Meharry Medical College and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the National Medical Association. He was awarded the 17th Distinguished Sevice Medal of the National Medical Association in 1962.