Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller was the first African American psychiatrist and a pioneer in the study of Alzheimer’s disease. He was born to Anna and Solomon Fuller on August 11, 1872 in Monrovia, Liberia. His grandfather had been a slave in Virginia but was able to buy freedom for his wife and himself, and moved to Liberia in 1852 in order to establish a settlement for free African Americans.

Solomon’s grandparents were medical missionaries, and he was always very interested in medicine. In 1889 he returned to the United States to pursue his education in medicine. He graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1897. He then became a pathologist after an internship at Westborough State Hospital. 

Solomon eventually became an associate professor of both pathology and neurology. Due to discrimination, he often was underpaid and not recognized on company payroll. He served as the neurology departments chair but was not given the title. He was given the task of conducting autopsies which was unusual for the time but ultimately fueled his greatest work.

A huge opportunity presented itself when he was one of five research assistants selected by Alois Alzheimer to work in his laboratory at the Royal Psychiatric Hospital in Munich, Germany. He conducted postmortem research on observable changes in the brains of victims of the disease. When Dr. Fuller returned to Boston, he continued on to focus on Alzheimer’s findings, reporting physically observable changes in the brains of those who had suffered with dementia, and making correlations that showed Alzheimer’s was a disease of the brain and not insanity.

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller passed at 80 years of age on January 16, 1953. Although he’s never been fully recognized for his work, nor did it benefit from it while alive, he has been applauded posthumously. In honor of his work Boston University opened the Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center in 1974.

The American Psychiatric Association presents the annual Solomon Carter Fuller Award to an individual who has done pioneering work to improve the lives of Black people.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona Aundrea Sayrie is a firm believer in the power of words, faith and a strong spirit. Her greatest desire is to encourage those around her to discover and honor their truth, and to passionately live on purpose.