Paul Brandon Barringer

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Paul Brandon Barringer

Dr. Paul Brandon Barringer was a professor of medicine and chairman of faculty at the University of Virginia. He was one of the univerisity's first eugenicists. He went on to be President of Virginia Tech.

Early Life

Barringer was born in Concord, North Carolina on February 13, 1857. His father, Rufus Barringer, gained fame as a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. His mother, Eugenia Morrison was the sister of the widow of "Stonewall" Jackson, Mary Anna Morrison. Barringer was also descended from Joseph Graham, a North Carolinian hero of the Revolutionary War.[1] Ancestry was a very important part of Barringer's family and a key formative aspect of his childhood. He saw his ancestors on both sides as patriots. These patriots were also slaveholders.[2]

Education and Early Career

Barringer received primary education in North Carolina and secondary education in Virginia. He enrolled as a student at the University of Virginia in 1875. At UVA, Dr. James Lawrence Cabell was a prominent mentor to Barringer. Two years later, Barringer received his M.D. degree. He received further medical training in France, Germany, and Austria. After his training in Europe, Barringer returned to North Carolina to teach medicine at Davidson College.[1]

Univeristy of Virginia

In 1889, Barringer accepted the position of Chair of Physiology at the University of Virginia, the position that his mentor, James Lawrence Cabell had previously held. Later in 1895, Barringer became Chairman of the Faculty, the highest leadership position at the time. He held the position until 1903. In 1907, the Board of Visitors elected Barringer President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.[1] As president, he oversaw the construction of UVA's first university hospital.[3]

Eugenics

As a prominent leader of the university, Barringer was key in creating some of the foundational eugenic education and research at UVA.[3] Barringer believed in the inferiority of black people due to their genetics. These views began to develop during his childhood growing up in the post-Civil War south. Barringer's family owned slaves which meant that at a young age, he was taught that he was superior to them. When Barringer grew up and earned his medical degree, he was able to advance these beliefs by connecting the racial hierarchy ingrained in him to science. To Barriner, black people were natural criminals and were subjected to barbarism without white intervention. Heredity was the key factor in their unwanted traits and determined their path in life. Brringer further believed the only solution to these genetic problems was the segregation of black people from society. He proposed political disenfranchisement and control of the education of black people by white people.[2]

UVA's hospital, a project that Barringer led, opened its doors in 1901. The hospital was segregated, with black patients relegated to wards in the basement. Because of their inferior status, black patients were neglected, receiving improper or limited care.[3]


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Web. Our New President, R. H. Hudnall, Alumni Number (Virginia Tech), January 1908, retrieved July 10, 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Book. [ Segregation’s Science], Gregory M. Dorr, University of Virginia Press, retrieved June 13, 2024.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Web. Eugenics at the University of Virginia, Encyclopedia Virginia, retrieved July 3, 2024.

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