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{{Short description|American dermatologist (1922–2006)}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Harold E. Pierce Jr.
|image = File:DrPierce2 (cropped).jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Pierce in 1993
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|4|04}}
|birth_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2006|10|25|1922|04|04}}
|death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|work_institutions = [[Howard University]],<br /> [[University of Pennsylvania]],<br /> Harlem Hospital
|alma_mater = [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University]], [[Howard University]] School of Medicine
|doctoral_advisor =
|doctoral_students =
|known_for = [[Cosmetic Surgery]] and [[Dermatology]]
|author_abbrev_bot =
|author_abbrev_zoo =
|influences =
|influenced =
|prizes =
|religion =
|footnotes =
}}

'''Harold E. Pierce''' Jr. [[Brigadier General]] (USAF, PANG, ret.) (April 4, 1922 – October 25, 2006) was an American [[dermatologist]] and cosmetic surgeon who practiced principally in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] for over 48 years.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7oo5tbhLPgoC&dq=%22Harold+E.+Pierce%22+dermatologist&pg=PA81 Ebony ]</ref> He pioneered surgical techniques for the treatment of [[keloid]]s, laminar dermal reticulotomy, [[Hair transplantation|hair transplants]], [[cosmetic facial surgery]], [[Chemical peel|chemical facial peeling]], and [[dermabrasion]] in [[people of color]]. He was called "The Father of Black Cosmetic Surgery."

== Early life ==
Pierce was born on April 4, 1922, in Philadelphia to Mary Leora Bellinger Pierce and Harold Ernest Pierce, Sr. His mother was a classical pianist who played for [[Marian Anderson]]. He is the oldest of two sons. Their mother died when young Harold was seven years old and his grandparents, Lillian A. Willets and Warren Wood Pierce of [[Bridgeton, New Jersey]], raised him.<ref name=PIObit>Sims, Gayle Ronan. [https://web.archive.org/web/20151018201137/http://articles.philly.com/2006-11-04/news/25406168_1_dermatology-medical-degree-surgeon "Harold E. Pierce Jr., 84, dermatologist, surgeon"], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', November 4, 2006. Accessed December 21, 2014. "He was born in the Art Museum area, and his mother died when he was 7. His father decided the best situation for his son was to be raised by his paternal grandparents in Bridgeton, N.J. He graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1939 and earned a bachelor's degree in science in 1943 from Lincoln University and a medical degree in 1946 from Howard University."</ref> While he was still young, Harold was estranged from his father, and as an adult, visited his father in Harlem. His Father had retired as a Laboratory Assistant from New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.


==Advanced study==
After graduating from [[Bridgeton High School]] in [[New Jersey]], Pierce received a B.S. degree from [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University]] in 1942, and an MD from [[Howard University College of Medicine]] in 1946.<ref name=PIObit/> Pierce completed an internship at Harlem Hospital in [[New York City]], a residency in dermatology at the Philadelphia General Hospital and Fellowship in [[dermatology]] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]'s Graduate School of Medicine.

==Family life==
On November 22, 1945, Harold married Constance Ella Mason, a [[mathematician]] and [[teacher]] in the Philadelphia school system. They were married for 44 years until her death in 1989. Pierce had three children, and four grandchildren. His eldest daughter became an attorney while the other two followed in his footsteps and became [[cosmetic surgeons]] and [[dermatologists]]. Dr. Pierce was the first of three generations to attend Howard University.

==War years==
In 1951, as the [[Korean War]] peaked, Pierce accepted an assignment as the Chief of Dermatology at the 1600 USAF Hospital at [[Westover Air Force Base]] in [[Massachusetts]]. In 1954, he became a General Medical Officer with the 111th Fighter Bomber. After many distinguished years, he resigned from the Air Force National Guard<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lDcDAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Harold+E.+Pierce%22+dermatologist&pg=PA50 Jet ]</ref> in 1976 and was promoted in 1987 on the Retired list to the rank of Brigadier General. He is the second [[African American]] to be given this ranking.

Pierce was active in the Civil Rights Movement, and even active as a child in the 1930s through his dissemination of Black Newspapers pushing for an end to the terrorizing [[lynching]]s of African Americans and their supporters that plagued [[United States|America]] throughout the first half of the 20th century.

==Author==
Pierce is the editor of the book ''Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Nonwhite Patients'', Grune & Stratton (New York, 1982). He taught for 17 years as an assistant professor of dermatology at Howard University.

==Death==
Pierce died at the age of 84 in Philadelphia from complications from [[prostate cancer]]. He worked daily as a doctor until the age of 83. Over five hundred people attended his funeral.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050909214801/http://www.nubodyusa.com/aboutus.asp Biography at NuBody]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Harold E.}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American physicians]]
[[Category:American dermatologists]]
[[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Bridgeton High School alumni]]
[[Category:Howard University alumni]]
[[Category:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Bridgeton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Physicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Members of the Sons of the American Revolution]]
[[Category:United States Air Force generals]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Cumberland County, New Jersey]]

Harold E. Pierce - Revision history

imported>Alansohn: refine categories (via WP:JWB)