Dr. James Bowman

Professor Emeritus

James Bowman MD, FASCP, FCAP

February 5, 1923 – September 28, 2011

Physician expert on Geneticist, medical professor and pathologist

Pathologist and geneticist; Professor Emeritus Pritzker School of Medicine

First tenured African-American professor at the University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences.

Chicago African American History Makers Award and recognition from the Hastings Center and Stanford’s Kaiser Family Foundation, and Howard University.

Professor Bowman was an American physician and specialist in pathology, hematology, and genetics.He was a professor of pathology and genetics at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He published more than ninety works across the fields of human genetics; population genetics; and ethical, legal and public policy issues in human genetics. He received many awards, including the Chicago African American History Makers Award and recognition from the Hastings Center and Stanford’s Kaiser Family Foundation, and Howard University.

Professor James Edward Bowman was born on Feb. 5, 1923, and grew up in Washington, D.C., during a tumultuous time in U.S. history.

“In those days,” he recalled in a 2006 interview for an oral-history project, “there was complete segregation. … One could only go to theaters, movies, and restaurants in the black neighborhood.”

H was the eldest of five his five siblings of Dorothy Bowman, a homemaker, and James Edward Bowman Sr., a dentist. His parents were African-American.He attended Dunbar High School. In 1943, he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Howard University. His father, a dentist, urged him to study dentistry, but Bowman wanted to study medicine. He entered Howard Medical School that fall and was immediately drafted into the U.S. Army as part of a specialized program that condensed medical training into three years. Bowman said the Army paid for his medical education with the expectation that all graduates would go directly into the service, but the Department of Defense later decided that they “did not want any black officers.” He was discharged in 1946.

He completed his internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., then moved to Chicago for a second internship at Provident Hospital. Soon afterward, an impressed supervisor connected Bowman with an eminent pathologist at Chicago’s St. Luke’s Hospital who offered him a residency position with research opportunities. Bowman accepted, becoming the first African American resident to train at that hospital.

During this period, he met Barbara Taylor, the daughter of Robert Taylor, the first African American chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority. They married in 1950, two weeks after she graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. Barbara Bowman went on to become president of the Erikson Institute, a graduate program in child development.

After his residency, James Bowman served as chairman of pathology at Provident Hospital for three years. He was drafted again and spent 1953 to 1955 as chief of pathology for the Medical Nutrition Laboratory at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver.

He gained national attention in 1972 when he declared that the passage of adult mandatory sickle cell screening laws in several states was “more harmful than beneficial.” These laws could “revive many of the past misadventures and racism of eugenics movements,” he argued at the time, adding that adult screening programs create “inaccurate, misleading, politically motivated propaganda which has left mothers frantic.” In 1973, he was named to two federal review committees designed to oversee sickle cell screening and education and to evaluate laboratory diagnostic techniques.

Geneticist, medical professor and pathologist Dr. James Bowman was born on February 5, 1923 in Washington, D.C. to James E. Bowman, a dentist and Dorothy Bowman, a homemaker. Bowman graduated with honors from Dunbar High School in 1939 and went on to study biology at Howard University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1943. By attending medical school as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Howard University, Bowman was able to obtain his medical degree in 1946. His intention was to become an Army medical officer, but at the time, segregation prevented it, so Bowman continued his studies in pathology. After an internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., Bowman did his residency in pathology at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago from 1947 to 1952.

In 1955, Bowman accepted a position in Iran where he studied favism, a disease which relates to the deficiency of glucose-6-dehydrogenase. From 1961 to 1962, Bowman studied genetics at the Galton Laboratory at the University College London. After returning from London, University of Chicago professor Alf Alving invited Bowman to take a faculty position there in the malaria research unit. His research on enzyme deficiency at the University of Chicago sent him abroad to do population studies. Bowman traveled to Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda among other places. From 1981 to 1982, Bowman studied under the Henry J. Kaiser Senior Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

An expert in the fields of pathology and genetics and professor emeritus in the departments of pathology and medicine at the University of Chicago, Bowman also served on the Committee on Genetics; the Committee on African and African American Studies; and as a senior scholar for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. He also published more than ninety works in the fields of general human genetics; hematological population genetics; genetic variation among diverse peoples; and ethical, legal and public policy issues in human genetics. One of his most notable books entitled, “Genetic Variation Disorders in People of African Origin,” was co-authored with Robert Murray. Bowman and his wife, Barbara, raised one daughter, Valerie Bowman Jarrett.

Bowman published more than 90 research studies in the fields of human genetics and related ethical, legal and public policy issues. He has received many awards, including recognition from the Howard University School of Medicine, the Hastings Center and Stanford’s Kaiser Family Foundation. He also received the CINE Golden Eagle Award for an educational film about sickle cells and the University of Chicago’s Gold Key Award. His legacy at the University of Chicago will continue through the Bowman Society, an advising group that supports minority scholars pursuing academic biomedical careers and sponsors a quarterly lecture series.

His impact extended beyond academia and science.

“He was my mentor, as he was for so many students,” said Anita Blanchard, associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology at UChicago. “Dr. and Mrs. Bowman made a personal investment in his students’ wellbeing by inviting us into their home and treating us like family. Dr. Bowman inspired us to go beyond our expectations to explore international service and unique learning opportunities.”

He is survived by his wife Barbara; their daughter, Valerie Bowman Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, former chairwoman of the University of Chicago Medical Center board of trustees and former vice chairwoman of the University of Chicago board of trustees; and one granddaughter, Laura Jarrett, a lawyer soon to begin practice at Mayer Brown.

The Bowman society was formed to honor Dr. Bowman’s legacy, and has hosted a lecture series since 2005

James Bowman in 2011

A true human with dignity, intelligence, and morals who saw the potential in others and gave them an opportunity for life and to achieve academically to assist in the world of medicine to save lives. James E. Bowman, MD, died in September 2011 at 88, t.n 2008, Bowman’s health began to falter. He was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on September 28, 2011.He is still celebrated and the impact he made in the world and medicine is forever is a lifechanging legacy.

Bowman published numerous articles and books, including:

Books

Journal articles

Bowman published numerous articles and books, including:

Books

  • James E. Bowman; Robert F. Murray (1998). Genetic Variation and Disorders in Peoples of African Origin. Hopkins. ISBN 978-0-8018-5884-0.
  • James E. Bowman (1983). Distribution and Evolution of Hemoglobin and Globin Loci. Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center Symposium on the Distribution and Evolution of Hemoglobin and Globin Loci at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., October 10–12, 1982. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-00793-3.

Journal articles

Source UChicgao News and Uchicago Medicine , History Makers Archieves September 27, 2002

Sep 29, 2011