# Robert Burt

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For the U.S. Navy officer, see [Robert F. Burt](/source/Robert_F._Burt).

**Robert Tecumseh Burt** (November 25, 1873 – August 16, 1955) was an African-American medical doctor, surgeon, and teacher.[1] He operated an infirmary and later the only hospital in [Clarksville, Tennessee](/source/Clarksville,_Tennessee) from 1906 to 1916.

## Early life and education

Robert Tecumseh Burt was born freed on November 25, 1873, in [Attala County, Mississippi](/source/Attala_County,_Mississippi), to parents Sylvia (Sanders) and Robert Burt that had been enslaved.[2][3] He was born in a one room dirt floor house on his grandfather's farm.[3] Burt completed high school in [Kosciusko, Mississippi](/source/Kosciusko,_Mississippi).[3][4]

He studied at [Jackson College](/source/Jackson_College_(Tennessee)) in Columbia, Tennessee; [Walden University](/source/Walden_University_(Tennessee)) (B.A. degree) in Nashville, Tennessee; [Central Mississippi College](/source/Central_Mississippi_College) in Kosciusko, Mississippi; [Meharry Medical College](/source/Meharry_Medical_College) (M.A. degree 1897 in Nashville, Tennessee); and he did post-graduate work at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) and E.A. Printy School of Surgical Technique.[2][4][5]

## Career

He moved to Clarksville in 1904, where he set up a medical practice on Third Street.[1] In 1906 Burt opened Clarksville’s first hospital called "Home Infirmary" near what is now Riverside Drive.[1][6] Burt initially offered the facility for surgery within the African-American community,[6] but it soon served all races who needed medical assistance.[1] He was skilled at abdominal surgery and [c-sections](/source/C-sections).[6]

Burt also taught at Bernard School in [McMinnville, Tennessee](/source/McMinnville,_Tennessee).

## Death and legacy

He was an active member of the community, until his death from an ongoing illness on August 16, 1955.[2] He is remembered as a highly skilled surgeon and community leader; [Burt High School](/source/Burt_High_School) and a community center were named in his memory in Clarksville.[2]

The "Home Infirmary" building was destroyed by a fire in 1992, and the site now contains a historical marker.[7]

## References

1. Smith, Chris (2023-02-12). ["10 Black leaders who helped shape Clarksville’s history"](https://clarksvillenow.com/local/10-black-leaders-who-helped-shape-clarksvilles-history/). *ClarksvilleNow.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-23.

1. Wynn, Linda T. ["Robert T. Burt (1873–1955)"](https://ww2.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Burt.htm). *ww2.tnstate.edu*. [Tennessee State University](/source/Tennessee_State_University). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170804220002/https://ww2.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Burt.htm) August 4, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-23.

1. Burgess, Joe Ann (2020-07-06). [*The Odyssey of Burt High School: The Evolution of Education of a Small Black High School in a Small Southern Town*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Odyssey_of_Burt_High_School/RdcBEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Robert+Tecumseh+Burt%22&pg=PA281&printsec=frontcover). Dorrance Publishing. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-1-4809-2530-4.

1. Ashford, Evan Howard (July 27, 2022). [*Mississippi Zion: The Struggle for Liberation in Attala County, 1865–1915*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mississippi_Zion/PXR4EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Robert+Tecumseh+Burt%22&pg=RA1-PA1808&printsec=frontcover). [University Press of Mississippi](/source/University_Press_of_Mississippi). p. 1808. ISBN 978-1-4968-3974-9.

1. Reeves, Cheri (February 22, 2024). ["Black History Month: Remembering Clarksville’s Dr. Robert Burt - Main Street Media of Tennessee"](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetclarksville/black-history-month-remembering-clarksvilles-dr-robert-burt/). *Main Street Media of Tennessee -*. Retrieved 2025-09-23.

1. Mitchell, Liana & Wallace, Joel (2000). [*Clarksville*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Clarksville/AOiGl1lyNxkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Robert+Tecumseh+Burt%22&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover). [Arcadia Publishing](/source/Arcadia_Publishing). p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7385-0648-7.

1. ["Burt Home Infirmary"](https://www.visitclarksvilletn.com/listing/burt-home-infirmary/461/). *www.visitclarksvilletn.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-23.

## External links

- [Robert Tecumseh Burt papers](https://www.fisk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/burt-robertt.collection1893-1972microfilm.pdf), Fisk University

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Burt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.