LAMBRIGHT, MIDDLETON H. JR. (7 Nov. 1908 - 14 June 1999) was the first black doctor to obtain full hospital privileges in Cleveland when he was admitted to the staffs of UNIVERSITIY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELAND and MT. SINAI HOSPITAL. He was born in Kansas City, MO, to Bartley S. and MIDDLETON H. LAMBRIGHT, SR. His father, a physician, brought his family to Cleveland so that his children could avoid a segregated education. Lambright Jr. graduated from Glenville High School, then attended Lincoln University and eventually received a degree from Western Reserve University in 1934. He decided to specialize in surgery while he was a student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, where he graduated in 1938. Dr. Lambright Jr. finished his internship at City Hospital, which later became METRO HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER. When World War II broke out, due to racial segregation in the military he was not allowed to join the Lakeside Medical Unit that served under Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific. Since the Army's only black medical training unit was full, he remained at City Hospital throughout the war. Dr. Lambright Jr. became an assistant professor of surgery at WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITIY and Chief of Surgery at Forest City Hospital. Lambright Jr. and his father both founded FOREST CITY HOSPITAL, which opened in 1957, in order to provide black physicians with the opportunity to head medical departments. In 1964 Lambright Jr. became the second black doctor in the nation to head a local affiliate of the American Medical Association when he became president of the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland. Lambright Jr. left Cleveland to become assistant dean of the Medical College of South Carolina. He returned to Cleveland in 1984 to serve as a vice president of BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD of Ohio and he retired four years later.
Lambright Jr. was an active participant in civic affairs. He served as one of the original trustees for CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY and was also a trustee for the Automobile Association, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, United Appeal, American Cancer Society, Red Cross, Welfare Federation, the URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER CLEVELAND, and the Cedar YMCA. In 1965 he was appointed Cuyahoga County Grand Jury foreman. Lambright Jr. served as the medical advisor for The Plain Dealer Golden Gloves tournaments and was the medical director of the Cleveland Boxing and Wrestling Commission. He married Willie Callaham. Lambright Jr. died in his home in Euclid and his remains are in the Mausoleum of LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.
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