Dr. Madison S. Briscoe (1904-1995)

Madison S. Briscoe, biologist, was raised in this house, attended the local Black school, and earned degrees from Storer College and Lincoln, Columbia, and Catholic Universities. He taught at Storer, where he co-founded the pre-medical program, and at the Howard University College of Medicine, where he specialized in public health with a focus on parasitic diseases and tropical medicine. As commanding officer of the U.S. Army’s 16th Malaria Survey Unit, Briscoe helped keep troops healthy during World War II. In the 1950s, his research in Egypt and Central America examined the role of insects and microorganisms in disease transmission. He published widely in scientific and medical journals.