Arnold Hamilton Maloney began his career planning to be a druggist in his native Trinidad, but his ultimate influence in the field of pharmacology was to be far greater than the local level. Maloney immigrated to the United States in 1909 where he completed his education and eventually became the first black professor of pharmacology in the nation. He had a varied career as ordained minister in the Episcopal Church, professor, researcher, consultant, and author. Through his research, he is perhaps most known for discovering an antidote for barbiturate poisoning (or an overdose of sedatives). He was also the second person of African descent to obtain both a medical degree and a doctorate of philosophy in the United States.

Maloney, the oldest male of ten children, was born July 4, 1888, in Cocoye Village, Trinidad, British West Indies. His father, Lewis Albert Maloney, was a building contractor and grocery chain operator...