Who is Dr. James Bowman? Well he was born on February 5th 1923 in Washington, D.C. He is married to Barbara Bowman and has one daughter, Valerie Bowman and one granddaughter. He was an ambitious man and very interested in medical science. He is renowned as one of the top experts in pathology and genetics. He attended Howard University and received his medical degrees there. He had training and his Fellowship at Freedman hospital located in Washington D.C. He has quite an extensive education background.
In 1947-1952 he completed his residency in Pathology at St Luke’s Hospital which is located in Chicago. He received his certification in 1951., he received his Clinical pathology certification in 1952 by the American Board of Pathology. Fellowship of research in the Department of Biometry and Genetics from 1961-1962 at the University College London and a Henry J. Kaiser Advance study fellowship in 1981-1982 at Behavioral Sciences at Stamford.
Bowman has received many awards and recognition. He has been asked to present and lecture for domestic and international committees. He has published over 80 publications and has written many articles in the field of human and hematological population genetics.
Things were not always easy going, Bowman actually failed Geometry, history and arithmetic. He moved toward architecture and actually was part of a group of students who were involved in a project which was the creation of a convalescent home for civil war veterans and nursing home. At this time this population was growing in numbers and was at the forefront of the government agenda.
So what exactly was he the first at? Well he was the first African American the graduate from MIT. He later was head of the Chicago Housing Authority; actually he was the first African American to head this division.
Bowman’s wife is an expert on childhood education and is a co-founder of Erikson Institute for Child Development. Bowman’s daughter Valerie actually made a name for herself by being named Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison of the Obama Administration. She was in fact the catalyst who brought the Obama’s into the forefront of the Chicago community. She helped to get them connections and let them know what is actually happening in the heart of Chicago.
James Bowman is a living legacy of a man who has learned a lot from Chicago and Chicagoans have learned a lot from him.
