Charles Richard Drew, the African American physician whose research into blood plasma saved thousands of American soldiers’ and sailors’ lives during World War II, lived here between 1920 and 1930. While attending Columbia University in the 1930s, he developed a technique for separating, freezing, and preserving blood plasma and red blood cells. He organized a blood bank in Great Britain at the beginning of the war, then returned to the United States. Drew died in an automobile crash in North Carolina on his way to a medical conference. Contrary to myth, he was not refused a blood transfusion at an all-white hospital.
Year On Marker: 2007
Original Sponsor: Virginia Historical Society and Department of Historic Resources
Geographic Location: Arlington County
Physical Description of Location: Proposed Location - 2505 1st Street, South, Arlington, VA 22204.
Display on Google Maps
Display on Google Earth