This collection belonged to Dr. George M. Cooper, a pioneer public health official
who was associated with the North Carolina State Board of Health for thirty five years.
Dr. Cooper (1876-1950) was born in Clinton, Sampson County, North Carolina, April
24, 1876. His parents were Amos J. (died November 25, 1920) and Elizabeth (Britt)
Cooper, both of whom were born in Sampson County, North Carolina. Dr. Cooper was one
of six children, including John H., 0. F. Cooper, Gordon B., Thomas N., and Margaret
(Cooper) Fitzgerald.
Dr. Cooper attended the common schools of Salemburg and the high schools of Sampson
County and worked as a teacher in Sampson County for four years. He graduated from
the University College of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine in 1905. After graduation, he formed a private practice with Dr. Frank H.
Holmes in Clinton which continued for eight years. As part time Sampson County physician
(1909-1913) he administered the first typhoid vaccine in the state. Later, as full
time Sampson County Health Officer, he conducted experiments in community sanitation
at Ingold and Salemburg. On May 1, 1915, Dr. Cooper was named head of the State Board
of Health's Department of Rural Sanitation. By 1917 he had become the Director of
the Bureau of Medical Inspection of Schools. A year later he inaugurated the system
of dental work for all the state's public school children. In 1919 he instigated the
clinics for the removal of diseased tonsils and adenoids of school children. On March
1, 1923, Dr. Cooper was promoted to Assistant State Health Officer and editor of "The
Health Bulletin". He directed the State Health Department's Division of Personal Health
Services. In 1931 he attained the position of Director of the Division of Preventive
Medicine. The Cooper Memorial Building on McDowell Street, which houses the Division
of Health Services, Department of Human Resources, in Raleigh, is named in his honor.
In 1907 Dr. Cooper married Miss Cornelia Powell, of Clinton. They had four children:
John Phil, Marion Holmes, George M., Jr., and Elizabeth Neal. Dr. Cooper was active
in the Wake County Medical Society, the North Carolina State Medical Society, the
Southern Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the American Public
Health Association. See the paper finding aid located in the Search Room for further
biographical information.
