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{{Short description|Tuskegee syphilis experiment whistleblower}}
[[Image:Buxton media.jpg|thumb|Peter Buxton]]
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
⚫
| name = Peter Buxtun
| image = Peter Buxtun.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1937}}
| birth_place = [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]]
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Social Worker, Epidemiologist
| years_active =
| known_for = Whistleblowing on the [[Tuskegee syphilis experiment]]
| notable_works =
⚫
}}


'''Peter Buxtun''' (sometimes referred to as '''Peter Buxton'''; born 1937 in [[Prague]]<ref>Donald Granberg, John F. Galliher: ''A most human enterprise: controversies in the social sciences.'' Lexington Books, Lanham 2010, p. 3.</ref>) is a former employee of the [[United States Public Health Service]] who became known as the [[whistleblower]] responsible for ending the [[Tuskegee syphilis experiment]].
'''Peter Buxtun''' (sometimes referred to as '''Peter Buxton'''; born 1937 in [[Prague]]) is a former employee of the [[United States Public Health Service]] who became known as the [[whistleblower]] responsible for ending the [[Tuskegee syphilis experiment]].


== Personal life ==
⚫
Buxtun, then a 27-year-old [[social worker]] and [[epidemiologist]] in [[San Francisco]],<ref name=heller97>{{cite news|title=The legacy of Tuskegee|last=Heller|first=Jean|work=[[St Petersburg Times]]|date=July 20, 1997|page=1D}}</ref> was hired by the Public Health Service in December 1965<ref>{{cite book|title=Research Methods for Social Work|last=Rubin|first=Allen|coauthors=Babbie, Earl R.|year=2005|publisher=Thomson Wadsworth|page=70|url=http://books.google.com/?id=eAdbEn-yZbcC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=%22peter+buxtun%22+syphilis | isbn=978-0-534-62109-4}}</ref> to interview patients with sexually transmitted diseases; in the course of his duties, he learned of the Tuskegee Experiment from co-workers. He later said—"I didn't want to believe it. This was the Public Health Service. We didn't do things like that."<ref name=heller97/> In November 1966, he filed an official protest on ethical grounds with the Service's Division of Venereal Diseases; this was rejected on the grounds that the Experiment was not yet complete. He filed another protest in November 1968; again, his concerns were ruled irrelevant.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://minority-health.pitt.edu/archive/00000393/01/The_Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study_1932_to.pdf|last=Thomas|first=Stephen B., PhD|coauthors=Quinn, Sandra Crouse, MEd|title=The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: Implications for HIV Education and AIDS Risk Education Programs in the Black Community|journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]]|volume=81|issue=11|date=November 1991|pages=1498–1505|issn=1541-0048|publisher=[[American Public Health Association]]|accessdate=2008-03-06|pmid=1951814|doi=10.2105/AJPH.81.11.1498|pmc=1405662}}</ref>
Buxtun is of [[History of the Jews in Czechoslovakia|Jewish]] and [[Czechs|Czech]] descent.<ref> Lawrence Bush (July 28, 2015). [https://jewishcurrents.org/jewdayo-grid/july-29-the-tuskegee-syphilis-experiment/ "July 29: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment"]. ''Jewish Currents''. Accessed November 7, 2018.</ref> He was born in 1937 in Prague.<ref>Donald Granberg, John F. Galliher: ''A most human enterprise: controversies in the social sciences''. Lexington Books, Lanham 2010, p. 3.</ref>


== Career ==
⚫
In 1972, Buxtun [[news leak|leaked]] information on the Tuskegee Experiment to [[Jean Heller]] of the ''[[Washington Star]]''. Heller's story exposing the Experiment was published on July 25, 1972; It became front-page news in the [[New York Times]] the following day. Senator Edward Kennedy called Congressional hearings, at which Buxtun and HEW officials testified and the Experiment was terminated shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tuskegee's long arm still touches a nerve|last=Stryker|first=Jeff|work=[[New York Times]]|date=13 April 1997|page=4}}</ref> Buxtun subsequently testified at the ensuing [[Congressional hearing]].
⚫
Buxtun, then a 27-year-old [[social worker]] and [[epidemiologist]] in [[San Francisco]],<ref name="heller97">{{cite news|title=The legacy of Tuskegee|last=Heller|first=Jean|work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=July 20, 1997|page=1D}}</ref> was hired by the Public Health Service in December 1965<ref>{{cite book|title=Research Methods for Social Work|last=Rubin|first=Allen|author2=Babbie, Earl R.|year=2005|publisher=Thomson Wadsworth|page=70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAdbEn-yZbcC&q=%22peter+buxtun%22+syphilis&pg=PA70 | isbn=978-0-534-62109-4}}</ref> to interview patients with sexually transmitted diseases; in the course of his duties, he learned of the Tuskegee experiment from co-workers. He later said, "I didn't want to believe it. This was the Public Health Service. We didn't do things like that."<ref name="heller97" /> In November 1966, he filed an official protest on ethical grounds with the Service's Division of Venereal Diseases; this was rejected on the grounds that the experiment was not yet complete. He filed another protest in November 1968, seven months after the assassination of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], pointing out the political volatility of the study;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theamericanscholar.org/tuskegee-truth-teller/|title=Tuskegee Truth Teller|last=Elliott|first=Carl|date=2017-12-04|website=The American Scholar|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-27}}</ref> again, his concerns were ruled irrelevant.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://minority-health.pitt.edu/archive/00000393/01/The_Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study_1932_to.pdf|last=Thomas|first=Stephen B.|author2=Quinn, Sandra Crouse|title=The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: Implications for HIV Education and AIDS Risk Education Programs in the Black Community|journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]]|volume=81|issue=11|date=November 1991|pages=1498–1505|issn=1541-0048|publisher=[[American Public Health Association]]|accessdate=2008-03-06|pmid=1951814|doi=10.2105/AJPH.81.11.1498|pmc=1405662|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701074701/http://minority-health.pitt.edu/archive/00000393/01/The_Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study_1932_to.pdf|archivedate=2007-07-01}}</ref>


⚫
In 1972, Buxtun [[news leak|leaked]] information on the Tuskegee experiment to [[Jean Heller]] of the Associated Press. It first appeared in the ''[[Washington Star]]''. Heller's story exposing the experiment was published on July 25, 1972; It became front-page news in ''[[The New York Times]]'' the following day. Senator [[Edward Kennedy]] called Congressional hearings, at which Buxtun and officials from the U.S. [[Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] testified. The experiment was terminated shortly afterwards.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tuskegee's long arm still touches a nerve|last=Stryker|first=Jeff|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 13, 1997|page=4}}</ref>
⚫
In May 1999, Buxtun attended the launch of a memorial center and public exhibit to the experiment in [[Tuskegee, Alabama|Tuskegee]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Center launched as training tool|work=Associated Press|date=May 17, 1999}}</ref>


⚫
In May 1999, Buxtun attended the launch of a memorial center and public exhibit to the experiment in [[Tuskegee, Alabama|Tuskegee]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Center launched as training tool|agency=Associated Press|date=May 17, 1999}}</ref> On November 4, 2019, Buxtun was inducted as an honorary member of [[Delta Omega]], the [[honor society|honorary society]] in public health.<ref>[http://deltaomega.org/honorary-members Honorary Members], at DeltaOmega.org; retrieved July 26, 2020</ref>
==Further reading==
⚫
*{{cite book | first=Susan | last=Reverby | title=Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy | publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |date=October 2009 | ISBN=978-0-8078-3310-0}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
* {{cite news
⚫
| NAME = Buxtun, Peter
|first=Allen G.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|last=Breed
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
|url=https://apnews.com/article/tuskegee-study-experiment-syphilis-7743bd8c7d51fe0ef9a855b4bec69b1f
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1937
|title=How Tuskegee was exposed. Reporter broke shocking 1972 story on federal atudy of syphilis in Black men
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Prague]]
|date=July 31, 2022
| DATE OF DEATH =
|newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]]
| PLACE OF DEATH =
|location=[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]. Section 2
⚫
}}
|page=8}}
⚫
* {{cite book | first=Susan | last=Reverby | title=Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy | publisher=[[The University of North Carolina Press]] |year= 2009 | isbn=978-0-8078-3310-0}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxtun, Peter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxtun, Peter}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:American whistleblowers]]
[[Category:American whistleblowers]]
[[Category:Human subject research in the United States]]
[[Category:Human subject research in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Public Health Service]]
[[Category:United States Public Health Service personnel]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Prague]]
[[Category:American epidemiologists]]
[[Category:Czech emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Czech epidemiologists]]

Latest revision as of 08:45, 27 September 2023

Peter Buxtun
Born1937 (age 86–87)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Social Worker, Epidemiologist
Known forWhistleblowing on the Tuskegee syphilis experiment

Peter Buxtun (sometimes referred to as Peter Buxton; born 1937 in Prague) is a former employee of the United States Public Health Service who became known as the whistleblower responsible for ending the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

Personal life[edit]

Buxtun is of Jewish and Czech descent.[1] He was born in 1937 in Prague.[2]

Career[edit]

Buxtun, then a 27-year-old social worker and epidemiologist in San Francisco,[3] was hired by the Public Health Service in December 1965[4] to interview patients with sexually transmitted diseases; in the course of his duties, he learned of the Tuskegee experiment from co-workers. He later said, "I didn't want to believe it. This was the Public Health Service. We didn't do things like that."[3] In November 1966, he filed an official protest on ethical grounds with the Service's Division of Venereal Diseases; this was rejected on the grounds that the experiment was not yet complete. He filed another protest in November 1968, seven months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., pointing out the political volatility of the study;[5] again, his concerns were ruled irrelevant.[6]

In 1972, Buxtun leaked information on the Tuskegee experiment to Jean Heller of the Associated Press. It first appeared in the Washington Star. Heller's story exposing the experiment was published on July 25, 1972; It became front-page news in The New York Times the following day. Senator Edward Kennedy called Congressional hearings, at which Buxtun and officials from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare testified. The experiment was terminated shortly afterwards.[7]

In May 1999, Buxtun attended the launch of a memorial center and public exhibit to the experiment in Tuskegee.[8] On November 4, 2019, Buxtun was inducted as an honorary member of Delta Omega, the honorary society in public health.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lawrence Bush (July 28, 2015). "July 29: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment". Jewish Currents. Accessed November 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Donald Granberg, John F. Galliher: A most human enterprise: controversies in the social sciences. Lexington Books, Lanham 2010, p. 3.
  3. ^ a b Heller, Jean (July 20, 1997). "The legacy of Tuskegee". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1D.
  4. ^ Rubin, Allen; Babbie, Earl R. (2005). Research Methods for Social Work. Thomson Wadsworth. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-534-62109-4.
  5. ^ Elliott, Carl (December 4, 2017). "Tuskegee Truth Teller". The American Scholar. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Thomas, Stephen B.; Quinn, Sandra Crouse (November 1991). "The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: Implications for HIV Education and AIDS Risk Education Programs in the Black Community" (PDF). American Journal of Public Health. 81 (11). American Public Health Association: 1498–1505. doi:10.2105/AJPH.81.11.1498. ISSN 1541-0048. PMC 1405662. PMID 1951814. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  7. ^ Stryker, Jeff (April 13, 1997). "Tuskegee's long arm still touches a nerve". The New York Times. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Center launched as training tool". Associated Press. May 17, 1999.
  9. ^ Honorary Members, at DeltaOmega.org; retrieved July 26, 2020

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Buxtun&oldid=1177360662"