Earl Wiley Renfroe was a history-maker in the field of orthodontics

Orthodontics

Orthodontics, orthodontia, or orthodonture is the first specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusions , which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both...

 and in breaking down the barriers of racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

.

Dr. Renfroe taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry

- About :The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry evolved from the Columbian Dental College, founded in Chicago in 1891.The College informally affiliated with the University of Illinois in 1901, and was chartered as an official College of the University in 1913...

 from 1933 through the 1980s. For many years, he was acknowledged as one of the best hands-on clinical orthodontics instructors in the world.

With fellow faculty member Dr. Thomas K. Barber of the College's Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Renfroe in 1957 wrote a seminal article on the concepts of preventive and interceptive orthodontics. Dr. Renfroe also is considered one of the "fathers of orthodontics" in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

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Breaking down barriers for African Americans

In 1966, his being named head of the Department of Orthodontics made him the first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 to lead a department at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.

He was the first African American orthodontist to open an office in the Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 downtown Loop area, and the first African American in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 to be licensed as a commercial aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

.

Early years

Born in Chicago January 9, 1907, Earl Renfroe graduated from Austin O. Sexton Grammar School in 1921 and from James H. Bowen High School in 1925. At Bowen, be became the first African American in the school's history to attain the rank of Cadet Commander in the Reserve Officers Training Corps.

Renfroe became the first student at the University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Illinois at Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...

 College of Dentistry to work outside the College full-time while carrying a full course load. He graduated first in his class of 127 ..

In 1932, he joined the Illinois National Guard, and eventually was awarded the rank of general in 1984. In1934 he became the first African American in Illinois, and only the third in the nation, to obtain a commercial pilot's license. He later served as an inspector for the Illinois Aeronautics Commission.

Breakthroughs in dentistry

Once on the UIC College of Dentistry faculty, he ended the practice of students being allowed to provide dental care only for the patients of the same race as themselves.

Dr. Renfroe served as chief of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Dental Service in Fort Huachuca, AZ.

In 1950, Dr. Renfroe opened an office downtown in Chicago's "Loop" (downtown area), becoming not only the first African American orthodontist in the Loop, but the only African American professional in any field to have an office in Chicago's downtown at that time.

International impact

In the late 1950s, Dr. Renfroe began traveling abroad to lecture on orthodontics. He eventually taught in nine countries including Brazil, and was the first U.S. dentist to be invited back to Brazil, where he is considered one of "the fathers of orthodontics," seven times. Upon being invited to Brazil the first time, he learned Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 so he could teach the course in the Brazilian dentists' native language.

Dr. Renfroe also made 30 trips to Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, where a dental facility now is named for him.

Important textbooks

In 1960, his landmark textbook, Technique Training in Orthodontics, was published By Edwards Bros. Inc., Ann Armor, MI. The Brazilian army made the book required reading for its dentists in 1964.

Honors and interests

In 1988, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the UIC Dental Alumni Association, and two years later was inducted into the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.

His wide range of interests, flying, amateur radio operation, pistol and rifle marksmanship, model locomotives, and SCUBA diving—saw him active in over a dozen civic organizations.

Renfroe was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

 fraternity.

Renfroe was married to the former Hilda Forte, who died September 13, 2000. His sons are Earl Renfroe Jr. and Stephen Renfroe, and his daughter is Diane Renfroe.

Dr. Renfroe is buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

, Arlington, VA.

External links