Dr Salomon Naphtali Albert
Personal Details
Dr Salomon Naphtali Albert
03/05/1916 to 11/10/1983
Place of birth: The Lebanon
Nationality: Lebanese (other nationality: USA, date of change not yet established)
CRN: 715587
Also known as: Sol
Education and qualifications
|
General education |
School not known; American University of Beirut (AUB) |
|---|---|
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MD, AUB, 1940 |
|
Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Election |
|
Year of Fellowship |
1951 |
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Other qualification(s) |
BA, AUB, 1936; DA(RCP&S), 1946 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
Albert joined the Free French Army immediately after graduation, serving in campaigns in North Africa, Italy & France, before coming to London in 1945 to train in anaesthesia at the Westminster Hospital. Having acquired the DA in 1946 he returned to Beirut to work at the Habib Khoury Hospital, and was appointed consultant to the Lebanese Army in 1947. He represented the Lebanon (by Presidential Decree!) at a conference in Paris in 1951, the year that AAGBI address records suggest he emigrated to the USA where at some time he became Board Certified. Details of exactly where he worked are sketchy, but he seems to have lived and worked in and around Washington DC for the rest of his life, papers in journals showing him sequentially at George Washington University (1956), the Washington Hospital Center (as Director of Anesthesiology Research Laboratories, 1963), and Greater Southeast Community Hospital (1982).
Professional interests and activities
Some records state, soon after WW2, that he was the first secretary of the Lebanese Society, but the current organisation was only established in 1962, long after he had moved to the USA. Publications show that, once in the USA, he performed research in several fields, but with the measurement of blood volume being his major interest. His WW2 service resulted in many French decorations: Croix de Guerre, Croix de Resistance, Colonial Medal & Free French Medal, and he was made a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 1951.
Other biographical information
He was a Freemason and Master of the Syrio-American Lodge #1 when in Beirut. It seems likely that he was one of the many who emigrated from The Lebanon because of the anti-Semitic feelings triggered by the creation of the State of Israel.
Author and Sources
Author: Prof Tony Wildsmith
Sources and any other comments:
Many people and organisations, too many to list here, were approached in the search for information on this slightly shadowy figure, and I thank them all, but the definitive information came from the Archives of the American University of Beirut, the Heritage Centre of the AAGBI and Dr Bernard Brandstater. Variations in the spelling of the subject’s given names does not help research, but it seems that in the USA he changed Saloman to Soloman, the latter being the spelling on his published papers and death certificate. Further details would be much appreciated.