Thomas Antley Pitts, II was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina on April 15, 1893. He entered the Medical College of South Carolina on a scholarship in 1912. Graduating in 1916, Dr. Pitts became the third generation of his family to practice medicine. He interned at Roper Hospital, and was a professor of pathology at the Medical College of South Carolina. Dr. Pitts served as a medical officer in the Army during World War I. Dr. Pitts undertook private practice in Saluda, South Carolina after the war, but after one year he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana for an apprenticeship at Charity Hospital. Dr. Pitts became the hospital's radiologist, and developed his skills there for two years. He went on to work at the Mayo Clinic, Cook County Hospital in Chicago, and hospitals in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Pitts was hired by the General Electric Company to manage the installation of X-ray equipment at Baptist Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina in 1923. Dr. Pitts also served as the radiologist and pathologist for the State Hospital in Columbia. He established the Pitts Radiological Associates group in the 1950s, and retired in 1982. Dr. Pitts was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Medical College of South Carolina in 1930, and was elected to be its chairman in 1941. Dr. Pitts served as chairman for 25 years, and was a board member for a total of 38 years. A portrait of Dr. Pitts hangs in the Medical University Hospital, and he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1982, as well as an honorary doctorate. Dr. Pitts was active in numerous professional organizations, including the South Carolina X-Ray Society, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Board of Radiology, the American College of Radiology, the American College of Physicians, and the Alpha Omega Honorary Medical Society. Dr. Pitts served as president of the Columbia (S.C.) Medical Society in 1927, and was the founder of its journal, The Recorder. Dr. Pitts also served as president of the South Carolina Medical Association in 1943. Dr. Pitts married Ellen Maries Douglas in 1928, and they were married for over fifty years. Hunting, fishing, and gardening were among his hobbies. Dr. Pitts died in 1991.
From the description of Thomas A. Pitts, II, M.D. Papers 1918-1982 (Medical University of South Carolina Library). WorldCat record id: 214074488
