Solomon Fuller, the first black psychiatrist in the United States, played a key role in the development of psychiatry in the 1900s. Known for his research on dementia, Fuller helped make the United States the leader in psychiatry that it is today. In addition, as a professor at Boston University School of Medicine for more than 30 years, Fuller helped train the next generation of psychiatrists.

Solomon Carter Fuller was born on August 11, 1872 in Monrovia, Liberia. His family, however, had American roots; his grandfather, John Lewis Fuller, had been a slave in Virginia who had been able to buy his freedom and move his family to Liberia. Solomon's father, also named Solomon, was a coffee planter and an official in the Liberian government. His mother, Anna Ursala James, whose parents were physicians and missionaries, set up a school to teach Carter and other area children. Fuller's early education also...