Charles R. Drew - Early Years

Early Years

Drew was born in 1904 into an African-American middle-class family in Washington, D.C.. His father, Richard, was a carpet layer. Drew and his siblings grew up in DC's Foggy Bottom neighborhood and he graduated from Dunbar High School in 1922. Drew's athletic achievements helped win him a scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts and he graduated in 1926. An outstanding athlete at Amherst, Drew also joined Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He attended medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, receiving his M.D. in 1933 as well as a Master of Surgery degree, and ranked 2nd in his class of 127 students. A few years later, Drew did graduate work at Columbia University, where he earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree, becoming the first African American to do so.