Alexander Thomas Augusta - Medical Training

Medical Training

Augusta applied to study medicine at the University of Pennsylvania but was refused admission. Although he faced institutionalized racism in his career, inadequate preparation was cited. Nevertheless, he took private instruction from someone on the faculty. As he was determined to become a physician, Augusta travelled to California and earned the funds necessary to pursue his goal of becoming a doctor. Concerned that he would not be allowed to enroll in medical school in the U.S., he enrolled at Trinity College of the University of Toronto in 1850. He also conducted business as a druggist and chemist. Six years later he received a degree in medicine.

Augusta remained in Toronto, Canada West, establishing his medical practice. The City of Toronto placed him in charge of Toronto General Hospital and later an industrial school. He supported local antislavery activities. He also founded the Provincial Association for the Education and Elevation of the Coloured People of Canada, a literary society which gave books and other school supplies to black children, as a way of giving back to the community. Augusta left Canada for the West Indies about 1860, returning to Baltimore at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861.