I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but God eluded me. I sought my neighbor and I found all three. -- Theodore Lawless

Dr. Theodore Lawless


Dr. Theodore Kenneth Lawless, one of the world's leading skin specialists, who pioneered treatments for venerial disase and Hansen's disease and the use of radium in cancer treatment, was born in Thibodaux on Dec. 6, 1892.
Lawless was the son of the Rev. Alfred Lawless, a native of Thibodaux who later became principal of Fisk Colored School in New Orleans, the first public school in New Orleans to provide modern instructional equipment and adult education classes to African Americans. Rev. Lawless also became the Superintendent of Negro Congregational Churches in the South in 1917. Lawless Memorial Chapel on Dillard University's campus is named in Rev. Lawless' honor.
Dr. Lawless attended high school at Straight College in New Orleans, and graduated from Talladega College, Ala. He studied medicine at the University of Kansas, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumni award in 1967. He received his M.D. at Northwestern University in 1919. He taught dermatology at Northwestern from 1924-1941. Dr. Lawless won the Spingarn Medal in 1954 from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He died May 1, 1971.