Charles H. Epps Jr.

Epps was born in Baltimore and grew up in Pimlico.[1] At the age of six he first noticed how unequal his society was, with the separate white school being better equipped than his own.[1] By the age of fifteen, Epps lost his father to a heart attack.[2] He attended Frederick Douglass High School, where he graduated as valedictorian.[1] He was appointed to the Maryland State Boys' State Senate, where he successfully called for the elimination of segregated public transport.[1] He was encouraged by his high school biology teacher to study chemistry at Howard University. He earned his medial degree from Howard University, graduating magna cum laude.[1] In an interview with The Washington Post, Epps said that as a Black medical student in the 1940s he could only study at Howard University or the Meharry Medical College.[3] Throughout his medical degree he drove a taxicab.[3] He specialised in orthopaedic surgery at Freedmen's Hospital, and was only the fifth African-American in history to become an orthopaedic surgeon.[4][5]

After his residency, Epps joined the Medical Corps where he was made a Captain.[1] He was honourably discharged in 1962, and returned to Washington, D.C. to start his own medical practise.[1] Epps was elected President of the American Orthopaedic Association in 1986, and was the first African-American person to hold such a position.[6] In 1988 Epps was made Dean of the Howard University College of Medicine.[5] His leadership resulted in a significant increase in endowment funding as well as several new research chairs.[5]

In 1994 Epps was made chief executive officer of the Howard University Hospital.[5] He was awarded the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Humanitarian Award in 2000, and the Marymount University Ethics Award in 2003.[7][8] Epps retired from Howard University College of Medicine in 2001.[5] In 2008 Howard University College of Medicine established the Charles H. Epps, Jr. Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery.[5]

Epps was married to Roselyn P. Epps, the first African-American President of the American Medical Women's Association[9] and the first African-American and first female president of the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.[10] Roselyn passed away in December 2014.[11]

• Epps, C. H. Jr; Bryant, D. D. 3rd; Coles, M. J.; Castro, O. (1991). "Osteomyelitis in patients who have sickle-cell disease. Diagnosis and management". JBJS. 73 (9): 1281–1294. doi:10.2106/00004623-199173090-00002. ISSN 0021-9355.
• Epps, C H; Tooms, R E; Edholm, C D; Kruger, L M; Bryant, D D (1991-07-01). "Failure of centralization of the fibula for congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia". The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 73 (6): 858–867. doi:10.2106/00004623-199173060-00008. ISSN 0021-9355. PMID 2071619.
• Epps, C H; Schneider, P L (1989). "Treatment of hemimelias of the lower extremity. Long-term results". The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 71 (2): 273–277. doi:10.2106/00004623-198971020-00015. ISSN 0021-9355. PMID 2918012.