Tiny Halifax County woman becomes mother of modern medicine

Tiny Halifax County woman becomes mother of modern medicine. . , Henrietta Pleasants Lacks was born August 1, 1920 and she died on October 4, 1951. Henrietta was an energetic, vibrant, beautiful, less than 5-foot-tall woman of color. However, adversity was ever present in her short thirty-one years of life., Henrietta was born in Roanoke,VA to former Halifax County residents Eliza Lacks and Johnny Pleasants. Her given name at birth was Loretta. Although her given name at birth was Loretta she would go by Henrietta for most of her life. No one knows how this name change came about., Henrietta was one of ten children. When her mother Eliza died giving birth to Henrietta's youngest sibling, Johnny brought Henrietta and her 9 siblings back to Clover, VA. As was common practice during that time, the children were divided among family but raised closely associated with their siblings. Henrietta was raised by her grandfather "Tom Lacks." Henrietta was three at the time., Henrietta grew up helping to work at the family farm, raising tobacco (the cash crop of the area), vegetables, and other crops that supported the small self-sustaining farm. She would later marry David "Day" Lacks. Like her parents before her, Henrietta and Day would eventually move from Clover to find work. The country was in the throes of World War II, and the couple with their young children ended up in Baltimore, Maryland where Day found work with Bethlehem Steele at Sparrow's Point., After many years of living in Baltimore, Henrietta fell ill. It was later discovered that her "female trouble" was actually cervical cancer in its later stage. She sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She later died there as a result of her illness. During that time her cells were taken without her knowledge or consent. Her family was never notified of the incident and would not be formally notified until 1975., [Timeline:] ,

. 1920 - Henrietta was born on August 1 , . 1951 - She was diagnosed with cervical cancer on February 5th , . 1951 - The HeLa cells began generating in the lab of Dr. George Gey , . 1951 - Henrietta passed away October 4 , . 1952 - Jonas Salk announced a vaccine for polio in February using research from the HeLa cells. , . 1952 - The HeLa cells were successfully shipped by mail to Minneapolis, Minnesota , . 1953 - Tuskeegee Institute began quality controlled productionof HeLa cells for shipping worldwide , . 1953 - The HeLa Cells were sold to Spain and Sweden leading to the discovery that human cells have 46 chromosomes

, For more information on the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, please visit the Halifax County Visitor's Center located at 1180 Bill Tuck Highway, South Boston, VA 24592.