|
October
14, 1834
|
Henry Blair Corn Planter |
August
31, 1836
|
Henry Blair Cotton Planter |
May
23, 1871
|
L. Bell Locomotive Smoke Stack |
May
26, 1872
|
T.J. Marshall Fire Extinguisher (variation) |
July
2, 1872
|
Elijah McCoy Lubricator for steam engines |
November
30, 1875
|
A.P. Ashbourne Biscuit Cutter |
September
24, 1878
|
W.R. Davis, Jr. Library Table |
July
22, 1879
|
M.W.
Binga Street Sprinkling Apparatus |
August
4, 1885
|
W.C. Carter Umbrella Stand |
March
3, 1886
|
F. Flemings, Jr. Guitar (variation) |
January
10, 1888
|
A.B. Blackburn Railway Signal |
January
7, 1890
|
William
B. Purvis Fountain Pen |
April
26, 1892
|
Sarah
Boone Ironing Board |
July
5, 1892
|
A.J. Beard Rotary Engine |
August
23, 1892
|
O.E. Brown Horseshoe |
October
4, 1892
|
G.E.
Becket Letter Box |
April
2, 1895
|
J.
Cooper Elevator Device |
April
16, 1895
|
C.J.
Dorticus Machine for Embossing Photos |
March
17, 1896
|
C.B. Brooks Streetsweepers |
April
4, 1899
|
B.F.
Jackson Gas Burner |
May
9, 1899
|
J.A.
Burr Lawn Mower |
July
18, 1899
|
L.C.
Bailey Folding bed |
October
10, 1899
|
J.W.
Butts Luggage Carrier |
December
12, 189
|
G.F. Grant Golf Tee |
November
20, 1923
|
Garrett A. Morgan Traffic Signal (U.S.) |
|
THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS
EXPERIMENT
In 1932, the American Government promised 400 men all residents
of Macon County, Alabama, all poor, all African American free
treatment for Bad Blood, a euphemism for syphilis which was epidemic
in the county. Treatment for syphilis was never given to the men and
was in fact withheld. The men became unwitting subjects for a government
sanctioned medical investigation, The Tuskegee Study of Untreated
Syphilis in the Negro Male. The Tuskegee Study, which lasted for 4
decades, until 1972, had nothing to do with treatment. No new drugs
were tested; neither was any effort made to establish the efficacy
of old forms of treatment. It was a nontherapeutic experiment, aimed
at compiling data on the effects of the spontaneous evolution of syphilis
on black males.
The
government doctors who participated in the study failed to obtain
informed consent from the subjects in a study of disease with a
known risk to human life. Instead, the PHS offered the men incentives
to participate: free physical examinations, free rides to and from
the clinics, hot meals on examination days, free treatment for minor
ailments, and a guarantee that a burial stipend would be paid to
their survivors. This modest stipend of $50.00 represented the only
form of burial insurance that many of the men had. By failing to
obtain informed consent and offering incentives for participation,
the PHS doctors were performing unethical and immoral experiments
on human subjects.
In
July 1972, Jean Heller broke the story. Under examination by the
press, the PHS was not able to provide a formal protocol for the
experiment; in fact, one never existed. While it was obvious to
the American public as a whole, PHS officials maintained that they
did nothing wrong. By the time the story broke, over 100 of the
infected men had died, others suffered from serious syphilis-related
conditions that may have contributed to their later deaths even
though penicillin, an effective treatment against syphilis, was
in widespread use by 1946.
On
July 23, 1973, Fred Gray, a prominent civil rights lawyer, brought
a $1.8 billion class action civil suit against many of those institutions
and individuals involved in the study. Gray demanded $3 million
in damages for each living participant and the heirs of the deceased.
The case never came to trial. In December, 1974, the government
agreed to a $10 million out of court settlement. The living participants
each received $37,500 in damages, the heirs of the deceased, $15
000. Gray received nearly $1 million in legal fees.
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