Lot 751, Sites B & C
Born in Hampton, Hugh Smith Cumming, Sr. (1869-1948) graduated from medical school at the University of Virginia in 1894. In 1920, Cumming was appointed to serve as the 5th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service—serving until 1936. Among the innovations introduced by Cumming was the practice of performing medical examinations of immigrants prior to departure to the United States rather than upon their arrival.
Cumming’s son, Hugh Smith Cumming, Jr. (1900-1986), was born in Richmond. He attended the University of Virginia and earned a law degree in 1924. While at UVa both Cummings lived in the same room on the lawn—37 West Lawn. Cumming, Jr., like his father, worked for the government. However, Cumming, Jr. was a diplomat—not a physician.
Hugh Smith Cumming, Jr. served the United States Department of State as Counsel to the United States Embassies in Sweden and the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower appointed him United States Ambassador to Indonesia, where he served from 1953-1957. From 1957-1961, Cumming, Jr. was the first person to serve as the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research with the United States Department of State.
Cumming, Sr. rests beside his wife, Lucy Booth Cumming (1871-1960), and Cumming, Jr. with his wife, Winfred Burney Cumming (1907-1978).
Originally published in St. John’s Newsletter, June 2021.