Jack E. White

Jack E. White (July 24, 1921 – July 2, 1988) was an American physician and cancer surgeon. The first black physician to train in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, White later directed the cancer center at Howard University College of Medicine. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1977.

Born in Stuart, Florida, White attended Florida A&M College and Howard University College of Medicine. White, a World War II veteran, trained at the Freedmen's Hospital in Washington and at Memorial Hospital in New York (later known as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) before taking a faculty position at Howard. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, White became the first black physician to complete training in surgical oncology there.

In 1951, White joined the faculty at Howard. He was a full professor by 1963. White became director of Howard's cancer center as well as its cancer training and research programs.He served on drug advisory panels for the Food and Drug Administration, and he was a consultant to several foreign countries. White mentored LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., who wenton to specialty training at Memorial Sloan Kettering, became a Howard faculty member and was elected president of the American Cancer Society.

In 1977, White was elected to the Institute of Medicine. He was recognized by the American Cancer Society for "outstanding service to the cause of cancer control." Howard University gave White its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in March 1988.

After retiring from Howard in 1986, White continued to serve as a cancer adviser to groups in Washington, D.C. He was known as an expert on cancers among black patients. White's research showed that black patients died of cancer at high rates, and he found that many of these deaths could have been prevented with earlier detection and treatment. White died of cancer in 1988. He was survived by his wife, Sara, and five children.