Pratt-Thomas, Harold Rawling

Harold Rawling Pratt- Thomas, M.D. was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England. After the death of his father, Harold Pratt, his mother married an American, Lee Hamilton Thomas, by whom he was adopted. Dr. Pratt-Thomas was reared in Sumter County, South Carolina and attended Davidson College in North Carolina where he earned his A.B. degree in 1934. He was granted his M.D. degree from the Medical College of the State of South Carolina in 1938. After serving his internship and residency in pathology at Cincinnati General Hospital he joined the Pathology Department at MUSC where he remained for 49 years. During his time he served as Chairman and Dean of the School of Medicine as well as the President of the institution. During his service at the School of Medicine he established the School of Cytotechnology, which later became a program of MUSC's College of Health Professions. Also during his tenure, the university purchased the campus of Porter Military Academy, thus paving the way for the physical expansion of the school. He died March 29, 2008 in Charleston, South Carolina.

From the description of Harold Rawling Pratt-Thomas Autobiography Manuscript Collection (Medical University of South Carolina Library). WorldCat record id: 277016723

Harold Rawlings Pratt-Thomas was born June 9, 1913 in Barnesley, Yorkshire, England. Raised in Wedgefield, South Carolina, he earned an AB from Davidson College in 1934. He graduated from the Medical College of the State of South Carolina (hereafter MCSSC) in 1938, after which he interned and did his residency at Cincinnati General Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Pratt-Thomas became an associate in the department of Pathology at MCSSC in 1940. He became an assistant professor in 1945, an associate professor in 1950, and full professor in 1955. In 1959 he became the dean of the School of Medicine, and in 1962 became president of the Medical College. Among his achievements as president were the inauguration of the School (later College) of Dental Medicine, and the cytotechnology program, which later evolved into the College of Health Professions. Pratt-Thomas was a member and officer of several organizations, including the Fellows of the American College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Waring Library Society, the Medical Society of South Carolina, Alpha Omega Alpha (a honorary medical fraternity), the Robert Wilson Medical History Club, the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, the Section of Pathology of the Southern Medical Association, the Southern Pediatric Seminar, the MUSC College of Medicine Faculty Alumni Liaison Committee, the Charleston County Medical Society, and the South Carolina Society of Pathologists. Pratt-Thomas received numerous awards for research and teaching from various organizations including the South Carolina Division of the American Cancer Society, two Golden Apple awards from the students of the Medical College for his excellence in teaching, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Medicine, First Exceptional Merit Award from the South Carolina Society of Pathologists, and the South Carolina Presidential Medallion. He also received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the College of Charleston in 1964 and an honorary Doctor of Science from Davidson in 1971. He published his memoirs, From Yorkshire Pudding to Hominy Grits, in 2003. Harold Rawlings Pratt-Thomas died March 29, 2008.

From the description of Harold Rawlings Pratt-Thomas Presidential Records 1948-1964 (Medical University of South Carolina Library). WorldCat record id: 643295811