Dr. Rupert O. Roett

Born in Barbados, Dr. Rupert O. Roett graduated from Meharry Medical College.   He completed his internship and residency at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. On his way to California, he was persuaded by other Black physicians to stay in Houston. Together in 1919, they founded Union Hospital, Houston’s first Black hospital, at the corner of Howard and Nash Streets in Houston’s Fourth Ward. In 1927, this same group was also the nucleus that established and built The Houston Negro Hospital, which is now named Riverside General Hospital. His residence at 3274 Holman in the Third Ward was named and is a City of Houston Landmark. Rupert O. Roett, also thought to be a charter member of Nu Phi, was possibly an Honorary Member of Delta Chapter – Nashville, Tennessee.