NEW DAY PROCLAMATION: NATIONAL GET UP DAY – February 1
On this day:
1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
Lillian Elaine Fishburne (born March 25, 1949) was the first African-American female to hold the rank of Rear Admiral (RDML) in the United States Navy. She was appointed to the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) by President of the United States Bill Clinton and was officially promoted on February 1, 1998. Fishburne retired from the Navy in February 2001.
Early life and education
Fishburne was born March 25, 1949 at Patuxent River, Maryland and raised in Rockville, Maryland. She was commissioned an ensign upon completion of Women Officers School at Newport, Rhode Island in February 1973.
Fishburne graduated from Lincoln University, Oxford, Pennsylvania in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She received a Master of Arts in Management from Webster College, St. Louis, Missouri in 1980. Fishburne was awarded a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Systems Management from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California in 1982. Also, she is a 1993 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
Career
Fishburne shakes hands with Vice Adm. Mel Williams at a 2009 ceremony
Her first duty assignment was as the Personnel and Legal Officer at the Naval Air Test Facility, Lakehurst, New Jersey. In August 1974, she was assigned to Navy Recruiting District, Miami, Florida as an Officer Programs recruiter until November 1977.
From November 1977 to August 1980, Fishburne was the Officer in Charge of the Naval Telecommunications Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. She then spent two years as a student at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. Upon completion of postgraduate school, she reported to the Command, Control, Communications Directorate, Chief of Naval Operations (OP-940). There, she served as the Assistant Head, Joint Allied Command and Control Matters Branch until December 1984.
Fishburne’s next assignment was Executive Officer, Naval Communication Station, Yokosuka, Japan. In February 1987, she was assigned to the Command, Control, and Communications Directorate, Chief of Naval Operations (OP-942) as a Special Projects Officer. Her next duty assignment was Commanding Officer, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Key West, Florida from July 1990 to July 1992. Following this tour, RDML Fishburne was a student at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces until 1993. Upon graduation, she was assigned to the Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems Directorate, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., assuming the position as Chief, Command and Control Systems Support Division (J6C) in December 1994. Next, Fishburne assumed command of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Eastern Pacific, Wahiawa, Hawaii (later renamed Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific) on August 25, 1995. In her final assignment she served as the Director, Information Transfer Division for the Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control Directorate, Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.
Born on this day:
1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012) (aged 114 years, 60 days)
Leila Alice Denmark (née Daughtry; February 1, 1898 – April 1, 2012) [1] was an American pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the world’s oldest practicing pediatrician until her retirement in May 2001 at the age of 103, after 73 years.[2] She was a supercentenarian, living to the age of 114 years, 60 days. On December 10, 2011, at age 113 years 312 days, she became one of the 100 oldest people ever. At her death she was the 5th-oldest verified living person in the world and the 3rd-oldest verified living person in the United States.
A pioneering female doctor, medical researcher, and an outspoken voice in the pediatric community, Denmark was one of the few supercentenarians in history to gain prominence in life for reasons other than longevity. She is credited as co-developer of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. She started treating children in 1928. By the time of her retirement, Denmark was treating grandchildren and great-grandchildren of her first patients.[3]
Born in Portal, Georgia, Leila Alice Daughtry was the third of 12 children of Elerbee and Alice Cornelia (Hendricks) Daughtry. Her paternal uncle was Missouri Congressman James Alexander Daugherty.[4] She attended Tift College in Forsyth, Georgia, where she trained to be a teacher. She studied chemistry and physics at Mercer University in Macon. She decided to attend medical school when her fiancé John Eustace Denmark (1899–1990) was posted to Java, Dutch Indies, by the United States Department of State, as no wives were allowed to accompany their spouses to that post.
Daughtry was the only woman in the 1928 graduating class of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, and the third woman ever to graduate from the school with a medical degree.[5]
John Eustace Denmark had returned from his overseas assignment and they married on June 11, 1928, soon after she received her medical diploma.[6] They had one child together, a daughter. Leila Denmark was a registered Democrat and a practicing Baptist. [6]
Medical career
Denmark accepted a residency at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to the Virginia-Highland neighborhood with her husband.[7] Denmark was the first physician on staff when Henrietta Egleston Hospital, a pediatric hospital, opened on the Emory University campus. She also developed a private practice, seeing patients in a clinic at her home.
Denmark devoted a substantial amount of her professional time to charity. By 1935, she was a listed staff member at the Presbyterian Church Baby Clinic in Atlanta, while serving at Grady and maintaining a private practice.[6] She conducted research from the 1930s, and especially from 1933 to 1944 in the diagnosis, treatment, and immunization of whooping cough, then frequently fatal to children. Denmark is credited as co-developer of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, with support from Eli Lilly and Company, and Emory University.[8][9] For this, she was awarded the Fisher Prize in 1935.
Denmark discussed her views on child-rearing in her book Every Child Should Have a Chance (1971).[10] She was among the first doctors to object to adults smoking cigarettes around children, and to pregnant women using drugs.[citation needed] She believed that drinking cow’s milk is harmful. She also recommended that children and adults should eat fresh fruit rather than drinking fruit juices, and drink only water.[11] On March 9, 2000, the Georgia General Assembly honored Denmark in a resolution.
FYI:
Sylvia Gaenzle: A Warrior’s Voice: Earl Granville
Fish Fun idea for Valentines Day@ Pet Smart
