West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Correspondence, book reviews, certificates and pictures of Waddell, a pioneering black veterinarian and author. His books
( People Are The Funniest Animals , The Black Man in Veterinary Medicine , Universal Veterinarianism , and Historical Facts of the Black Veterinarian ) document the little known contributions of African-Americans from antebellum times to the present in the field of veterinary
science. They also indicate his beliefs that the veterinarian profession can also help heal misunderstandings among mankind.
After graduation in 1935 from the University of Pennsylvania, one of the first schools to admit blacks into its veterinarian
program, he taught and worked at Tuskegee Institute where he co-founded the first program in veterinary science at a black
American college. During World War II, he joined the Ninth Cavalry, a famed black unit of which he includes some of its history
among his papers. After the war, he established a private practice in West Virginia eventually locating in Monongalia County
where he also served on the board of the Monongalia County Mental Health Association. His home near Morgantown served as a
social center for some of the first black students who attended West Virginia University. He was also instrumental in fostering
integration of other institutions within the county. After 1963 he moved to North Dakota where he worked on the Chippewa reservations
of Turtle Mountain and Fort Totten. Waddell offers his observations on the aspirations of Native Americans and how they are
discriminated against and neglected.
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Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Dr. William H. Waddell, Veterinarian and Author, Records, A&M 0300, West
Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
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